Lavish graphic design histories are emerging all over the world. The latest to crop up is Linha do tempo do design gráfico no Brasil, written by Chico Homem de Melo and edited and designed by Elaine Ramos, the art director of Editora Cosacnaify, (with a preface by me). This is an ambitious in depth history of Brazilian graphic design. Translated as Timeline of graphic design in Brazil, this book, with three separate covers, is the most comprehensive survey ever produced on graphic design in Brazil. Weighing in at 744 pages and more than 1600 color reproductions, it encompasses two centuries of printing and production. And there is a lot of amazingly beautiful and conceptually adventurous work – a real treasure trove. See some pages here.
The book took three years to research the grand array of books, magazines, newspapers, signs, posters, record albums, postage stamps and banknotes that comprise the extensive narrative. Although European in style, much of the typography and illustration is imbued with a uniquely Brazilian flair. The result is a compendium of discoveries and rediscoveries, such as magazine covers P’ra You Pernambuco, the busy pages of the tabloid Fox, a fantastic collection of books and the work by exceptional designers like Fred Jordan and Fernando Lemos. The book puts Brazil in the vortex of the graphic design world. It is a valuable reference that chronicles the fascinating record of Brazilian visual culture. See Elaine Ramos’ blog here.
Linha do tempo do design gráfico no Brasil is only published in Portuguese, but the images speak in all tongues and dialects.
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