Maria Aurora Campos Newman de Diaz (1941-2003) was the first Mexican woman to graduate as an industrial designer in the country. As founding partner of Grupo Di in 1970 and of the designer association DIMAC in 1971, Maria Aurora carried an important role in the development and promotion of Mexican modern design.
Her first encounter with design was through interior design, as was usual at the time, a career that she studied at the Universidad Motolinia in Mexico City. After which she would in 1962, become the first woman in the country to take and graduate from an Industrial Design program, at the "Universidad Iberoamericana" with a thesis on packaging for children beauty products.
Inspired by the time working at the projects department at Knoll International, she left to Italy in 1965 to continue her studies at the "Politecnico di Milano", and then to Germany in 1967 to study at the renowned "Universitat Ulm". After the school's definite closing in 1968 and without being able to finish their studies, the couple returned to Mexico in 1969, where she became famous for her commitment to promote design as founder of Grupo di in 1971, a company devoted the office-interior space planning, and designated Knoll's distributed in Mexico until 1985. In 1983, Campos Newman founded DA COLOR, a pioneer store in Mexico specialized in self-build furniture made by national (Mexican) designers. By 1988 Grupo di started importing Italian furniture and becoming the exclusive distributor in the country for Estel, Arflex, Matteograssi and Reixte; until 1999, from where she developed her own office furniture line, produced entirely in Mexico, "euro".
Aside from her entrepreneurial work, she was known for the integral philosophy towards design.
"The objective of design must be that one of having the commitment of the designer, not only to find shape solutions for a special requirement but to be the result of the product's analysis and its relation to its function and use. He must be an interpreter of reality. The designer must love the industry to be able to create valid industrial design objects"
Maria Aurora Campos de Diaz, "El objeto de diseno en el espacio interior", Podio Magazine, no. 26.
Previously together with her husband, architect Raul Diaz Gomez, they founded Calli Magazine in 1959, seeking to broadcast contemporary design and architecture in Mexico. Among her most renowned projects of her, was the new image for the international executive lounge for Mexicana de Aviacion in Mexico City's international airport; a project incorporating in the interior design, and integral way to incorporated furniture, exhibition stands, finishings and technology.
