Interview with André Beato

It’s always a pleasure to have an interview with great typographer and designer. Today we have asked André Beato the portugese designer, illustrator and typographer from Lisabon some questions about his work practice and ideas of life.

1. How did you came to type?
My “typographic” addiction started early at school when I got into graffiti, that’s when I started to draw and modify the first letters. Since my childhood I always had a connection with the arts through my father who is also graphic designer and illustrator. So yeah, basically i just ended up following his footsteps… from an art school to uni where I took a BA in Graphic Design and a MA in Design Visual Culture -Visual Production, ending up working at my father’s studio for 4 years in Lisbon, currently i´m working as a freelancer based in London.

2. Why do you love typography?
I love typography because it´s like a game, that can be quite addictive, where the characters become pieces allowing to play and explore different combinations where the aim is to try to find the perfect balance between the design and the legibility.

3. Can you tell us about your way of designing?
My working method is quite simple and normal (but not always follow a logical order) but yeah when I got a briefing, I start my research, searching for images on the subject etc. During this process I start to visualize mentally the illustration followed by some rough sketches. This process can be quite quick or take a while. I just need to feel I got something visually strong and once I have reached that stage I step in to the computer (vector program) ending most part of the times in photoshop for the last touches.

4. What tools do you use for the design process?
The usually use paper, pencil, markers, freehand mx, illustrator and photoshop, but I´m trying to expand to other options!

5. Where do you get inspired of?
From a vintage beer bottle label to a book that I read, from pieces that I saw at the art gallery, to a coffee shop around the corner (that have an amazing hand painted sign), to a cut trunk in a park to the effect that oil mixed with water makes. Basically everything that grabs by attention inspired my somehow.

6. What is your favourite typeface?
Uf, now that´s a difficult question. I love so many, but usually a bold condensed font would full fill my appetite!

7. Please finish the sentence: “In an ideal world, typography to me would be…” My profession for life.

8. Did you ever had crisis or problems in your daily design life?
Well some. The usual things that all freelancers have to face are payment delays, etc., but one that is quite common is when clients keep asking you create something based on a previous work, something that I already have done, same style, same shapes, sometimes can get a bit frustrating because it doesn’t allow to explore other techniques and evolving that much.

9. What is the most joyous or most attractive part of typography for you? When people say:”WOW!”

10. What comes next?
Hopefully more exciting projects! ;)

Thanks to André Beato for these insights and learnings. I hope you out there get some inspiration of these words of wisdom and go get your creative ideas done!

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Typostrate Weekend Inspiration 39

Drawing on a glass is always fascinating, because it has to be precise and perfect. This week we found some awesome and interesting inspirations, installations, 3D art movements, window shopping designs, selfmade letterings , fancy alphabets, digital art, calligraphy urban art and endless possibilities. Enjoy these inspirations and feel free to send us some over as Gergő Bogányi from Hungary did it with his Geoarabic Typeface (No7).

"The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude." Friedrich Nietsche

Image sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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Letter Experiment

This type experiments are made by Cream 5 from Cambridge, USA. While playing with different floating forms, lines, swooshes, lights the letters seem to move like a chellyfish in the sea, slowly in the flow of the waves. Every single letter is designed with it’s own colour, character and style. Enjoy this letter art!

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