SÃO PAULO CLEAN CITY & I HATE BOOKS

Step Inside Design, Nov/Dec 2007

SÃO PAULO CLEAN CITY & I HATE BOOKS by Gustavo Piqueira and Marco Aurélio Kato

Echoing a familiar practice in other locales, a Brazilian design firm has started a publishing house. Rex Design partners Gustavo Piqueira and Marco Aurélio Kato established Rex Livros out of a desire to both fill an editorial gap and share their point of view with fellow designers. Their first two releases are São Paulo Clean City and I Hate Books.

Drawing inspiration from São Paulo's January 1, 2007, ban on "outdoor publicity"-an effort to beautify the city-São Paulo Clean City shows the effect of the ban on dozens of real businesses. Recent photos, mostly of business facades, are displayed alongside fictional, often humorous accounts of conversations the authors imagine may have taken place as the companies were figuring out how to get their messages across while still complying with the law. The tone of these stories is mildly subversive and consistently entertaining.

I Hate Books is comprised of various ruminations regarding reading and associated habits that can annoy others. Accompanying illustrations or typography serve to highlight the text.

Both books are written in Portuguese, but with English versions of the text in the back. Page numbers next to the translations allow readers to reference the visuals in the proper context.

$9.60 each, hardcover, São Paulo Clean City-44 pages, I Hate Books-40 pages, Rex Livros (www.amazon.com)