book design

The collection celebrates the 50th birthday of writer and professor Patrícia Tenório, bringing together five volumes — 7 por 11, 12 horas, 13, 14, and 15. Since 2004, the author has published poetry, novels, and short stories, with eleven books and several literary awards in her career.

Just as the collection marks the author’s time, the graphic project was shaped by the cycles of time: the time required by painting techniques, the time of natural leaves, and their own transformations.

The purpose was to align the idea of celebrating a writing — both reissued and unpublished — with the cycle of leaves from a tree that is part of Recife’s everyday landscape.The graphic concept revolved around “time” — the passage that redefines us. To bring the city of Recife into the project, I chose the cycle of the castanhola tree, a recurring presence in Parque Treze de Maio, a central space in the city’s daily life designed by Burle Marx. This tree, also known as the Indian almond (Terminalia catappa), carries many names and meanings, much like the multiplicity of voices present in Patrícia’s work.

The leaves themselves became the basis of the visual language: collected, dried, and later painted, they were used as stamps throughout the volumes. The result is a geography of time and cycles, where design, nature, and literature meet.

This project was recognized with the Brasil Design Award 2018 in the Editorial Design category, reinforcing its relevance as both a literary and visual work.