The concept
Throughout our lives we see many faces. Some of those faces become familiar and accompany us for many years. Photography allows us to document the changes of those faces over time. Other faces are temporary, we see them during a very specific period in our life and then they’re gone. Most of them we only see once. If we are lucky enough, we get to capture those in a picture.
There’s a very special quality to the pictures you take when people are not expecting to be photographed. There is this honesty to them, this realness. That is the way I love to capture people. Sometimes when I take photos like that, it feels like I’m stealing.
I don’t see my brother as much now that we live in different countries, but when I think of him I can almost see him walking down the street trying to get his hair off his eyes in the very particular way he has always done it. I would love to have that in a picture, but that is something I haven’t stolen yet.
The graphic language
I wanted to create a very dynamic identity. The project involves people, traveling and dance. It was very important for me to communicate movement, transformation and diversity.
I chose typography as the main component. The logo is simple but dynamic. After many explorations I realized that slanted typography communicates best the qualities of the project. To be paired with the logo, I designed custom characters giving each of the letters in “Stolen” a meaning:
- S, Spain
- T, Turkey
- O, Odissi
- L, ladaÍnha
- E, explore
- N, narrator
The result was a set of graphics that tell the story of the project and that I was able to use in so many different ways.
I wanted to keep the color palette very neutral. The design should serve as a canvas for the photography. Some warm grays and orange to bring everything to life.
These design elements give me a lot of flexibility when I try to create new pieces. It’s great to see they can be used over photography, in patterns, paired with the logo, or just by themselves.
I want to say thank you now to Benjamin Rocha, Nick McGinnis, Lynn Nguyen, Damon Chin, Maria Vassalo, Mia Croft and Frances Liddell; amazing designers and amazing friends. Without your valuable feedback throughout the design process this would have been a lot harder and a lot slower.
