Studied art at the Barcelona Art and Craft School 1945–49, then spent two years working in Paris. Returned to Barcelona in 1958 to set up his own studio and by 1961 had been twice awarded the San Jorge prize for drawing. Appointed professor of advertising and plastic art at the Massana School, and elected first chairman of the Grafistas Agrupación FAD (now ADG-FAD). In 1962, Pla-Narbona studied typographic techniques in Switzerland and worked with the advertising agency Adolf Wirz of Zürich; also produced a series of lithographs for ARTA Zürich. International exhibitions include the 1st Warsaw Poster Biennale, the inauguration of the Lincoln Center and the NY AIGA. He designed posters for the 25th Olympic Games and the Spanish Pavilion at Expo 92 in Seville. He is currently AGI chairman for Spain. He received the LAUS Award 2000 from ADG-FAD, the Design Award from the AEPD (Asociación Española de Profesionales del Diseño) in 2001 and the Spanish National Design Award 2004.