How did Young Guns get on your radar?

I’ve been excited about the idea of being part of Young Guns for a while now. To me, it’s always been a space that brings together the freshest young creatives in the industry — the people who are really shaping what creativity looks like each year.

First, I learned about it at university from friends who were making a list of awards we should keep an eye on. Then, one of my best friends, Leandro Assis (YG18), won his cube in 2020, and since then he advised me to try the prize. My first time attempting the prize was last year, and I got nominated as a finalist — it was huge for me!

How did you end up in the creative field?

My parents have always been a big source of inspiration for me, ever since I was little. My mother has one of the most beautiful calligraphies in the world, and my father, as a toolmaker in the steel industry, helped me develop my drawing skills from a young age.

Then I started making collages and fan art of Twilight and Lady Gaga when I got a portable version of Photoshop CS3 from my cousin — and this made me fall in love with creativity in general.

It drove me to choose a furniture design course at SENAI, a technical school, when I was 14. It was great! After high school, I studied Industrial Design at Escola de Design — Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais (UEMG) and was the only person who created a visual identity for each product project they had to present, hahaha. This led me to enjoy graphic design even more, and then I began interning at small fashion brands and graphic design studios.

Why did you decide to enter this year?

Last year, when I was 28, I was a finalist at YG22, and this really gave me more courage and inspiration to create and believe even more in my creative process. Then, I decided to try again this year, put some new projects, and submit my work to other The One Club awards.

The Wendy Andrade book won a Silver Cube at the ADC Awards this year! This made me look at my portfolio more closely and understand that the generalist aspect of it is the gold within me. I love being a generalist, creating a wide range of projects, and exploring the possibilities in each. So, it was a great decision!

You only get to submit six projects. How did you decide what made the cut?

I’m a big fan of analog processes, and mixing them with the digital world is interesting. At the same time, showing the playfulness that these projects have — and how they improved voices from beyond the brief — was something I took into consideration. So it was like creating a summary of my creative view.

And you know how it is: we always have one or two (or three) other projects we want to add but we didn’t finish the case study at the time (blame the deadlines hahaha). So I think the ones I chose have the consistency to represent me in such a significant award as Young Guns.

“The generalist aspect of it is the gold within me.”

What was your reaction when you found out you won?

I was starting to work right after the gym, opened my email, and when I read the title, tears began to fall from my eyes. It took a whole day, actually, hahaha.

I think that, for us — foreigners and especially Latin Americans — having the recognition from international institutions is something big, and that endorses us as creative voices beyond borders. That’s why I felt this way. Then I called my family and my best friend, and went to lunch at my favorite restaurant. And yes, drank a lot of water (which is something great to do when you cry for hours straight).

In what ways does where you’re living right now inspire your creativity?

São Paulo is a big city, and living here connects you with diverse views, people, discourses, and ideas. Also, black and queer communities are shaping the Brazilian cultural landscape, and São Paulo tends to gather and showcase these groups and their scope of work from across the country.

I think this helped me connect more with myself and others. I became friends with some fantastic, creative people. My friends have always pushed me to believe in my work and ideas in a comfortable space. We keep exploring and exercising our creativity, sharing our creative processes, being vulnerable, and supporting each other in life. It’s a place that makes me feel at home.

At the same time, when you leave your hometown, you start to look at it with a more careful eye. This made me compassionately look at my history and value even more the handmade aspect of the graphic universe from Minas Gerais — I started researching printing processes and classic typography, and became affectionate with texture, maximalism, and grit.

This collapse of the traditional universe from there, and all the new possibilities São Paulo offers, influenced my work 100%. It’s a balance, and defying these lines between the two universes is something I really love.

Now that you’re part of the Young Guns community, are there any past winners you admire?

Oh, there’s a huge list! Today I have the opportunity to work with Jessica Walsh (YG8) at &Walsh, and it’s a great moment in my life — I’m learning a lot and being part of great projects with the team.

I also had the chance to work with Leo Porto (YG17) at Porto Rocha on a project for Melissa — which was a major career experience — and to design Wendy Andrade’s book alongside Carlos Bocai (YG22), launched this year.

Leandro Assis (YG18) is one of my biggest inspirations. Everything Leandro touches becomes soulful, fun, and full of movement. He is a close friend and a mentor; one of the most extraordinary things is to dive into a creative process with him.

When I think of creative direction, I always think of Aries Moross (YG10), Tracy Ma (YG11), Hassan Rahim (YG14), Kerby Jean-Raymond (YG14), Veronica Fuerte (YG7), Gabriela Namie (YG19), and Eric Hu (YG8). Each of them has a distinct way of creating astounding directions for their projects.

Claudia Rubín (YG19) is one of the greatest in the editorial universe right now. All the work she is developing at the NYT Magazine amazes me — it’s powerful.

I need to mention the work of Tré Seals (YG17) and Jessica Hische (YG7) as top-tier typographic references. Also, I can’t leave this question without mentioning Leta Sobierajski (YG15), Bráulio Amado (YG13), Danaé Gosset (YG19), Hattie Stewart (YG15), Marte (YG21), Maria Jesus Contreras (YG20), and Heejae Kim (YG19), as creatives whose crafting techniques uplift every project they work. I’m probably forgetting someone — I can spend a day on it.

If you could create a new Young Guns tradition, what would it be — and why?

Since we’re a class, I think creating a space where we can collaborate, talk, and discuss career, our most important references, and share this knowledge beyond the ceremony could be super prolific. It would be cool to think about how these creatives could connect between projects.

What about a YG magazine, or a yearbook? Or a series of interviews between the winners?

Name a dream project you’d love to do next. Who would you want to collaborate with?

I’m a curious person, so I’m very interested in developing languages across multiple areas, and I like to be challenged. Every project that touches or intersects culture, entertainment, music, movies, and food makes my eyes shine: from music festivals to cookbooks, from magazines and books to creating visual languages for big brands.

Working with Solange on a Saint Heron project? An A24 book/merch/film? These are dreams.

And whenever possible, I like to put my hands on different areas of a project that are not just graphic design-driven. It’s okay to create a visual identity for a restaurant, but what about talking about menu ideas together? Imagine designing the visual identity for a festival and being part of its curatorship? Or creating a new homeware brand for Homer? This is something I’d love to be working on.