Project

For several years now, the author has devoted some of his spare time to researching type specimens from the old Portuguese type foundries. This process, which has more than a decade now, has resulted in some written articles that have modestly contributed to some knowledge about the work of these foundries.

During these years he has been traveling, mainly online but also physically, always trying to collect new elements, searching in libraries, book stores and archives.

Some stories behind these travels, ranging from brief events to true odysseys, are worth sharing because they expose some secrets and mishaps that, besides the main motivation of the journey, led the author to meet new people and places and left marks in his memory.

Porto-Urueña

The Book

«Porto–Urueña» embodies the literary exploration of a journey, undertaken by the author. Fiction, photographic record and notes of emotional impressions have been worked side by side, seeking to offer a reading experience as unforgettable as that of the traveler. The result is a trilingual publication, in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, whose parts are presented in that same order.

The book has the same format as the publication that is the protagonist of the story and, during the pagination, some elements have been introduced, as ornaments, to illustrate small details of the composition, rescuing some forgotten elements of the old typography, and leading the reader to evocative moments. The corollary of this is its cover, in a reinterpretation of the original cover.

The Author

The author was born in Amarante (Portugal) in 1974, and after finishing high school he moved to the city of Porto. He studied graphic communication and multimedia, audiovisual, cinema, photography and has a Master degree (University of Porto), his thesis being in the area of typographic design.

Work as a communication designer in an industry, and in his free time, besides traveling and watching a lot of cinema, he dedicates some time to research the old Portuguese typographic foundries and their specimens. This process has already resulted in several articles published to show the work of these foundries and their contributions to the History of Portuguese typeface design.

Quotes

"When I left Porto, the city was waking up and its awakening resembled mine. It was one of those days when even laziness doesn't hold us back in bed. I knew the journey ahead and although the beautiful light was spreading very shyly through the morning fog, it didn't have enough to impress and keep me inert."

"As a student, and then a professional, I became interested in this central discipline of graphic communication: typographic design. The idea of letter design started as a curiosity and turned into a passion."

"They say that Urueña is a place with more sky than earth. It is such a small town that crossing it from one end to the other shouldn't take more than five minutes. But this was not my intention. I wanted to go through each of its streets and squares with the time they deserved. As if I were reading a book, page by page, slowly."

Technical sheet