MyFonts' Creative Characters Issue #52 interviews Pintassilgo Prints

“They used to do it all: illustration, graphic design, product development, screen printing — hence the name of their company, PintassilgoPrints. Lately this young couple from the seaside city of Vitória, Brazil, has concentrated almost exclusively on type design. And quite rightly so. Their fast-growing collection of playful and informal display and script fonts has met with increasing success, and these past few months they’ve scored more than one bestseller. Don’t be fooled by the apparent nonchalance of their letterforms: technically, their fonts are painstakingly made. Meet the bird-loving, hard-working, type-enamored Erica Jung and Ricardo Marcin“.

read the full interview at MyFonts: Creative Characters interview with PintassilgoPrints, November 2011.

Read Also:

• Brazilian comics in Slovakian magazine
• Paste Magazine interviews Eduardo Recife
• DINGBATS BRASIL
• Brazilian venture featured as one of “The best places to find artistic inspiration online” by TNW
• CLIO honors Marcello Serpa with “Lifetime Achievement” award

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DINGBATS BRASIL in Venezuela

The exhibition DINGBATS BRASIL opened on April 30th at the Galeria Venezolana de Diseño in Caracas, Venezuela, as part of the program of the 4th Latin American Typographic Biennial TIPOS LATINOS 2010.

DINGBATS BRASIL features the first decade (1996-2006) of Brazil’s production of digital pictorial alphabets – the dingbats – through thirty-five projects by 22 prominent contemporary designers like Leonardo Buggy, Tony de Marco, Marina Chaccur, Claudio Rocha, Marcelo Martinez, Guto Lacaz and Rafo Castro, among others.

This is not the first time the exhibition is seen in Venezuela: in October/November of 2008 it was presented within the 4th COIDIGRA – Congreso Internacional de Diseño Gráfico, in the city of Mérida. The exhibition has also traveled Brazil, Colombia and China in local and international design events, and has been seen by over 12,000 people from 50 countries.

Photos by Maga Uzcátegui Rangel & information in Spanish here and in English & Portuguese here.

Read Also:

• International panel debates still and moving images at the 2nd Brazil Film Festival in China
• DINGBATS BRASIL goes to Beijing ICOGRADA 2009
• 9th Brazilian Graphic Design Biennial goes to China
• Discover the Brazilian Cinema
• DINGBATS BRASIL

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"The Map of the Interior World", by Eduardo Recife

One of Eduardo Recife’s earliest artistic memories is of a robbery. One night after dark, he and a friend were midway through their first attempt at pixação, a Brazilian graffiti style, when thieves ambushed them, took their shoes and told them to run. “We were 13, skinny and wussies,” Recife says. “We ran.”

His shoes were gone, but not his creative spirit. Recife, now 29, has become a prolific illustrator, collage artist, font designer and photographer with a bevy of high-profile clients like The New York Times, HBO and Panic At The Disco. Recife is careful to delineate between his personal work and commercial work (he has separate websites for the two, and declares that his personal site “is my playground!”), but both are well-regarded in the admittedly niche world of design blogs. “What made his work stand out was the looseness and spontaneity of it,” says John Martz, editor of illustration blog Drawn! “None of his work looks labored, yet it still has a very cohesive style.”

Recife’s collages blend typography, vintage photographs and illustrations with his own drawings. The aesthetic of the latter is simultaneously lush and barren, beautiful and grotesque. He admits that images of his home country—from distressed typography on signs to vernacular paintings on walls—have influenced his designs. “Brazil, apart from its problems, is such a beautiful place,” he says. “It is definitely a source of influence in my work—the colors, the people, the mountains, the ocean, the bright blue sky.”

via Eduardo Recife Finds His Footing :: Features :: Paste.

Read Also:

• London Design Festival’s “Brazil Illustrated”, featuring Bruno Kurru, Wagner Pinto and Eduardo Recife
• Movements: O Gráfico Amador
• Brazilian design featured on Computer Arts Magazine’s “Viva Brasil” article
• São Paulo’s Modern Art Museum “Brazilian Design Today: Frontiers”
• Make a Virtual Trip to Brazil through “Into Brazil” Project

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Computer Arts Desktop Wallpaper: Adhemas Batista

Brazil’s creative output is currently under the international spotlight. Books are being written, exciting work is being commissioned and reputations are being made. So what’s going on? Has Brazil just been ‘discovered’, or are Brazilian designers doing something different to the rest of the world?

Brazil is South America’s largest economy. It has borders with every other state on the continent bar Chile and Ecuador, its rainforest still harbours tribes of the last indigenous Indians, and back in 2002 it elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – one-time shoe-shine boy – as its president.

Brazil is an amazing place, yet we still know it best as the home of football, bikinis and Samba – it must seem a bit unfair to the locals. “Well, we do have a lot of football, girls in bikinis and Samba!” says Danilo Oliveira of graphics co-op Base-V.

Oliveira is from São Paulo, so would the answer be different further inland? Hop north-east to Belo Horizonte and you’ll find designer, typographer and illustrator Eduardo Recife. “People see Brazil as a jungle filled with naked girls,” he says, “but we have a very rich culture.” And when the rest of the world wakes up and smells the coffee, Brazilian design will take centre stage.

Nando Costa, the man behind Die Gestalten Verlag’s Brasil Inspired, spent five years working in the US, which has given him perspective. “As long as people recognise that the country has a lot more to offer, it doesn’t really bother us.”

The world is waking up to Brazilian design. “Lately, with all the hype around Brazilian culture, more and more designers have been working as freelancers, both for the local and the overseas markets,” says Costa.

This is healthy, but it’s leading to the creative equivalent of a brain drain. “More and more professionals are leaving the country, which is really sad,” says Costa. But there is a silver lining: “It’s always really great to have the experience and then later, if they want, they can go back to their home town and help take the market a bit further.”

There are many designers doing just that. Base-V recently completed a giant wall installation in São Paulo, Eduardo Recife has just finished a series of stills for HBO’s ‘Assume the position’; and since last December Nando Costa has been busy working on a series of 30 packaging illustrations for software giant Microsoft.

The rise of street art and graffiti is nowhere more prominent than on the streets of Brazil’s cities. “The influence is big – from fashion to animation,” agrees Oliveira. And even the official art market is beginning to open up: “Spaces and galleries with a specific interest in ‘street language’ are opening, particularly in São Paulo.”

“Brazil is a place of high contrast, and that’s very inspiring for an artist,” says Costa. “Chaos has always been inspiring, but it also instigates more thoughts about what one can do to change poverty, violence and other issues.” Art can make a difference, but as Oliveira points out, “It’s a very hard struggle because artists here have to fight for their space in the market.”

Eight Brazilian design talents you should be keeping your eyes on:
Mariana Bukvic
Based in São Paulo, interactive art director Mariana Bukvic is an example of Brazil’s outward facing designers. She has worked for many prestigious clients such as Nike, Coke and Nestlé, and has been honoured with numerous awards from the Cannes Cyber Lions to the D&AD.

Buraco de Bala
This studio has come a long way since its launch back in 1999 – always striving to develop the best solution within its powers, no matter what technique the team uses in order to accomplish its goals. Buraco de Bala works are mostly fuelled, “by craftsmanship and a special taste for the classic techniques and references.”

reismagos
Reismagos is a graphic design studio created by Alline Luz and Daniel Gizo. Since 2004 the pair have worked on commercial and experimental projects for national and international clients. Although this piece is about the 2006 World Cup, “Now we’re into designer toys – something quite unknown in Brazil,” says Gizo.

Flávio de Almeida Hobo
“My approach is analogical plus digital,” says Flávio de Almeida Hobo. Humans are “analogical beings” using digital tools. “The lack of money spent on projects here makes creativity essential. Less business, respect for nature and do the work with sincerity. Design can save the world.”

Yomar Augusto
Graphic artist Yomar Augusto has been published around the globe. From Brazil to China, The Netherlands to Russia, his work is highly respected. In 2004, Yomar was involved in two Rojo Magazine ArtStorm projects, where 18 artists from all over the world brainstormed a huge project based in Barcelona and Berlin.

Rogério Lionzo
Brazilian designer and illustrator Rogério Lionzo is making the world a better place with the gift of colour and form. The young artist is chuffed with his progress so far: “I am lucky enough to have great experiences and opportunities so far in my career.”

Nitrocorpz
The four founders of Nitrocorpz have been working together since graduating in 1998. “We do interactive media, illustration, print and motion work. Most of our work is done through email/IM.” Other projects include www.mixtape.nitrocorpz.com and www.neuralbrand.org.

Andre Matarazzo
Born in São Paulo, Andre Matarazzo travelled extensively throughout the world for 12 years, got upset with the state of online design in Brazil and decided to move back and launch gringo.nu. He is focused on online branding solutions.

via Computer Arts – Viva Brasil.

Read Also:

• International panel debates still and moving images at the 2nd Brazil Film Festival in China
• Discover the Brazilian Cinema
• Chinese design magazines will publish over 200 pages of Brazilian graphic arts in 2010
• Roots: Wollner, Alexandre (1928)
• Brazilian posters for the Green Movement in Iran

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"Aniki Bobo", by João Cabral de Melo Neto

Aloísio Magalhães, while still attending law school in Recife (the capital of Pernambuco), had already begun to show his fascination with graphic arts by skillfully illustrating a poetry book written by a colleague of his from the university, José Laurenio de Melo.

After graduating, he traveled to Paris to study painting and engraving at the Atelier 17, an important European center of engraving. Once back in Brazil, he met with Gastão de Holanda, a former classmate from the university, who had also been in Paris, studying literature.

Coincidentally, a famous cousin of Magalhães, the renowned Brazilian poet João Cabral de Melo Neto, moved to Recife at that time. This cousin strongly encouraged the two young artists to open their own private print shop, similar to the one he himself had had in Barcelona. It was in that print shop that Cabral de Melo Neto had produced his own books through craftsmanship, while he was in the town occupying the post of consul.

Magalhães and José Laurenio became excited about the idea of setting up a print shop and they sought other former friends from the university who were also involved in literature and graphic arts. Among the main names of those who founded O Gráfico Amador in 1954, it is worth mentioning Ariano Suassuna, José Laurenio, and Orlando da Costa Ferreira.

Brought together by their passion for books and their quests in philosophical and aesthetic issues – which were connected to Modernism, a Brazilian art movement – these individuals produced grand experimental works that combined poetry, illustration, a bold typographical style, an alternative and informal use of paper and elements in relief printing. All these ingredients greatly contributed towards creating a more pleasing relationship between text and image.

O Gráfico Amador was being closely followed by Le Courrier Graphique, from Paris, as well as by the Curwen Press, from London. Additionally, several intellectuals and artists from Pernambuco and people from the artistic milieu also contributed to the magazine.

This undertaking was a key factor in Aloísio Magalhães’ career, for he later became a pioneering figure in the history of Brazilian graphic design. Let us not forget that benchmarks were scarce at that time, especially outside of the region linking Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo. Moreover, Magalhães became a leading pioneer in the history of Brazilian typography, as he was acutely aware of the profound relationships between artistic and industrial production.

O Gráfico Amador revealed itself as being a reference in the scenario of Brazilian culture and it was displayed in an exhibition at the Brazilian National Library, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1959.

The magazine closed its doors in 1961. It had issued altogether 20 publications, including the first edition of the poem Ciclo, by Carlos Drummond de Andrade – a renowned Brazilian poet. Its patrimony was donated to Escola de Belas Artes do Recife (Recife’s Fine Arts College).

via :: REDE DESIGN BRASIL ::.

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• Roots: Magalhães, Aloísio (1927)
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• Roots: Câmara, João (1944)
• Roots: J. Borges (1935)
• Roots: Fernandes, Millôr (1923)

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Poster of "Brazil Illustrated: Bruno Kurru / Wagner Pinto / Eduardo Recife" exhibition during London Design Festival

Part of this year’s London Design Festival, the exhibition Brazil Illustrated does not aim to create a geographical representation of the practice of illustration in Brazil today, but brings together three individual artists — Bruno Kurru, Wagner Pinto and Eduardo Recife — whose work synthesizes the numerous possibilities of the medium in its multiple variations. All three artists incorporate a variety of media and materials in their work, whilst still maintaining drawing at the very heart of their practices, comfortably accommodating seemingly disparate visual elements such as line drawing, photography, painting and collage.

The exhibition, curated by João Guarantani, concentrates on the possibilities of illustration outside its applied state, before it is appropriated by design and visual communication, and presents an exploration of the most expressive qualities of the medium in its raw state through site-specific installations.

via Brazil Illustrated: Bruno Kurru / Wagner Pinto / Eduardo Recife | London Design Festival.

Read Also:

• Paste Magazine interviews Eduardo Recife
• Brazilian designer featured on Coroflot Genius Gallery “Eyes On the Prize”
• Brazilian illustration festival in China
• Movements: O Gráfico Amador
• Brazilian design featured on Computer Arts Magazine’s “Viva Brasil” article

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"Dream" by Eduardo Recife

With Brazilian designers and companies like F. Akasaka and Melissa helping to put Brazil on the map for design (not just street art), there’s a lot of talent that’s on the brink of making it big, which is the subject of the exhibit “Brazilian Design Today: Frontiers.”

Interest in Brazil’s arts outside of the traditional cultural symbols is relatively recent, so to celebrate and showcase the variety and contributions of Brazilian design in the 21st century, the show focuses mostly on industrial design but also takes a look at digital mediums.

There are gems aplenty among those 90 picked for the show, from Eduardo Recife‘s handmade cut-and-paste fonts (like “Dream“) and Fernando Prado‘s “Bossa” adjustable lamp.

Also worth checking the pieces of Alexandre Wollner, Claudio Rocha, Tony de Marco, Rogério Duarte, and Tipos do Acaso.

via Brazilian Design Today: Frontiers.

Read Also:

• Paste Magazine interviews Eduardo Recife
• Roots: Wollner, Alexandre (1928)
• Alexandre Wollner featured in the “Distinguished Lecture Series” of the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• London Design Festival’s “Brazil Illustrated”, featuring Bruno Kurru, Wagner Pinto and Eduardo Recife
• DINGBATS BRASIL

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Dingbats Brazil goes to Venezuela

DINGBATS BRASIL is an exhibition that features the first decade (1996-2006) of Brazil’s production of digital pictorial alphabets – the dingbats – through thirty-five projects by 22 prominent contemporary designers. The fonts can be seen in its +dingbatsbrasil) and related matters (in the dingblog).

The themes of most of the exhibited projects emanate from a broad cultural sphere, and they are carried in a comprehensive bunch of languages and styles – which reflect the diversity of Brazilian contemporary graphic arts. The initiatives of rescuing and registering aspects of Brazilian culture – music, religion, art, sports, culinary and even design itself – could be understood as a premeditate or unintentional way of popularizing the Brazilian-way-of-life through graphic design

Read Also:

• DINGBATS BRASIL goes to Venezuela
• DINGBATS BRASIL goes to Beijing ICOGRADA 2009
• Chinese design magazines will publish over 200 pages of Brazilian graphic arts in 2010
• 9th Brazilian Graphic Design Biennial goes to China
• Roots: Tupixel (Brazilian Illustrators Index)

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www.verbeat.org/dingbatsbrasil/

Read Also:

• DINGBATS BRASIL
• DINGBATS BRASIL goes to Venezuela
• 9th Brazilian Graphic Design Biennial goes to China
• Roots: ADG Brasil (Associação dos Designers Gráficos)
• Chinese design magazines will publish over 200 pages of Brazilian graphic arts in 2010

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The Brazilian Association of Graphic Design (ADG) 9th Brazilian Graphic Design Biennial will be exhibited during the 2009 Shanghai International Creative Industry Week from October 15th–21st (9am-5:30pm at 800 Changde Road, Building 3). During the weekend of October 17th/18th there will be English/Chinese/Portuguese (at 11am and 3pm) free guided tours to the exhibition by Brazilian graphic designers.

On Monday October 19th 6-8pm, Raffles Design Institute – Shanghai (Donghua University – RDI Main Building – 1882 West Yan An Road) will host two lectures of the Biennial programme: Taschen Books editor Julius Wiedemann will present a lecture on “Visual Communication & Technology”, followed by Digital Communication Ph.D. Luli Radfahrer, who will talk about innovation in the digital culture in his “Fluid Mechanics: Design in the elastic environment” presentation.

After Shanghai, the exhibition travels to Beijing to be part of the Icograda World Congress, in the 4th Floor Gallery, Building 7 of CAFA – Central Academy of Fine Arts from October 26th–30th. The DINGBATS BRASIL exhibition (which was in Shanghai from May to July 2009) will also be displayed at the same location, before traveling to Hong Kong, Macau and Vietnam.

Read Also:

• 9th Brazilian Graphic Design Biennial in China
• DINGBATS BRASIL goes to Venezuela
• DINGBATS BRASIL goes to Beijing ICOGRADA 2009
• Roots: ADG Brasil (Associação dos Designers Gráficos)
• Kiko Farkas poster exhibition in China

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