Hasta La Ideas

Anthony Burrill and students tackle language barriers in graphic design at São Paulo’s Mesa & Cadeira

Earlier this year, Sao Paulo-based workshop group Mesa & Cadeira invited renowned British graphic designer Anthony Burrill—known for his print works featuring simple but bold sayings—to the megapolis to lead a weeklong session with 12 (mostly Brazilian) students. The results of this north-meets-south salon are now set to run in a three-week exhibit called “Anthony Burrill & Mesa & Cadeira: How to Say the Most With the Least” starting today at London’s Kemistry Gallery. The pieces are especially interesting because they provide a look into how words can be played with in a foreign language—in this case, Portuguese—but yet still get across the same clever meaning in a more common one.

“The language barrier was quite tricky,” Burrill comments. “My work is about playful twists of language, something that depends on context and cultural cues to give meaning. I think we managed to make work that communicated in both languages.” During the workshop, rather than take on the traditional role of teacher, with lesson plans and a strict schedule, Burrill instead let the session evolve organically. “I liked to explore alongside the students, so we both made discoveries. Everybody is an individual with unique life experiences and approaches,” says Burrill.

The dozen posters in the show, in A2 size and mounted on wood panels created from reclaimed wood similar to the kind that Burrill noticed on various construction sites around Sao Paulo, were unexpectedly created in black and white. “Most people associate bright colors with Brazil. I wanted to challenge this. São Paulo is actually quite a gray place, the concrete of the buildings is sun bleached, in a beautiful way. Also, the main focus of the exhibition is the words, that’s why I’ve used one typeface throughout,” he notes.

Brazilian-born journalist Barbara Soalheiro, who founded Mesa & Cadeira with Francesca Wade from London, pointed out that the workshop with Burrill exemplifies its unique approach. “You don’t just sit and listen to someone you admire speaking about hypothetical situations. You actually work with that person: see how he or she makes decisions, watch where he or she invests more or less energy, witness how he or she solves unexpected problems when they appear.” she explains.

In addition to the show, on 12 July 2012 Burrill, Soalheiro and Wade will lead a discussion that gives a behind-the-scenes look into the workshop. The next installation of Mesa & Cadeira, whose date is still not set, will be led by Casey Caplowe, creative director and founder of Good, along with one of the organization’s creative technologists.

Traditionally-inspired sweets and flavored macaroons with Brazilian flair

The Brazilian aesthetic might be most easily defined by touches of nature and color. This is also the case with regional food, like iFolie‘s inventive, artisanal macaroons and chocolates, which come packaged in keepsake giftboxes that add even more color.

A partnership between Carolina Carnicelli and Renata Fernandes, Folie recently opened the doors of their production facility in a renovated house on a quiet street in São Paolo’s Pinheiros neighborhood. Now they offer eight flavors of macaroons and four types of chocolate candy each week, with flavors changing depending on seasonal ingredients and the owners’ whims.

Carnicelli and Fernandes are always experimenting with new flavors. The shop’s most recent floral-based macaroon collection has eight flavors including jasmine and orange blossom. Also taking advantage of fresh Brazilian tropical fruits, the duo creates tasty treats like passion-fruit macaroons. Chocolate macaroons made with Ecuadorean and Carribbean cocoa are standouts with all their subtle floral and nut flavors. Brazilians love the renditions of favorite childhood desserts such as brigadeiro (chocolate and condensed milk) and the fresh-coconut-milk-based beijinho. For more adult tastes, there are also macaroons inspired by drinks—from gin and tonic to the Brazilian caju amigo (cashew juice with vodka).

Despite the variety of macaroons, locals favor the lascas—delicately thin sheets of chocolate loaded with caramelized balsamic vinegar, dried strawberries or caramel-covered cornflakes awash in milk chocolate.

The crocs, mounds of chocolate with a combination of crunchy and chewy ingredients like dried cranberry, pistachio and caramel, are also popular. Adding another distinctly Brazilian flair, custom boxes are designed to hold other objects after consuming the product inside.

Maintaining a strict emphasis on quality, the duo use the best, freshest and local (when possible) ingredients. Their macaroons require three days to make, and they skip preservatives so their confections are best eaten swiftly (which fortunately isn’t often a problem).

Visitors to the atelier are personally attended to by either Carnicelli or Fernandes, making the experience wholly personal and intimate, just like their sweets. Contact Folie for mail orders, delivery and additional information.