Originating in Portugal, the aim of Conversas is to bring people together to discuss, contemplate and reflect on the work of three Conversadores. For each meeting, three people or groups are selected to introduce their project to an audience of like-minded professionals. Conversadores span artists, architects, theorists, policymakers and many others giving each session its own individual vibe. Conversas now takes place in 16 cities around the world.
CONVERSAS
The Rotterdam Chapter
I was asked to be the designer for the Rotterdam chapter’s 16th series of talks in 2020. The brief was to create campaign images to promote upcoming sessions on social media, design the final report summarising the talks, and to rethink the logo. Despite COVID-19, three events have taken place so far, with the remaining program planned for later in 2021 once restrictions have eased and it’s safe to do so.
Concept
For this series, I went back to the origins of the word con-ver-sas, a Portuguese word meaning — no prizes for guessing — conversations. For the logo, I broke it down into three syllables, each referencing one of the conversadores and applied a simple italics to ver, which in Latin means spring. Taking a long bow, I connected that to the idea of conversas being a place to share ideas, projects and interests with a view to new perspectives sprouting in subsequent discussions. For each event, I selected a different image depicting Rotterdam with a view to capturing an aspect of the city’s diverse character. Visit conversas.