Concept book and Graphic Identity: Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal.
This project aims to portray a small town in Portugal, near Porto, called Póvoa de Varzim.
Póvoa de Varzim is the hometown of a poor fishing community, who has faced, in the past centuries, poverty, grieve and hardship, and where people are humble and hard-working. Poveiros are very connected to the sea and respect it very deeply. Their life is simple, their culture is rich, their grief is profound and their memories are eternal.
This identity is based on the primordial runes from Póvoa de Varzim, which were used as a graphic alphabet for the illiterate, as well as a representation of local families and a way to identify their belongings.
This custome type and visual identity symbolizes the community, of family, of the sea. Like a fisherman’s net, it connects the people, in the same way as it catches fish for livinghood.
But what if the net breaks or the ship starts to flood?
Then, as a family, they mend what’s broken by hand, together. This community unites at its lowest and its strengh, and like a net, they hold hands in effort and muttual support. It holds on the group effort to common goals, on tradition, on values, on the strong nothern accent.
This identity and concept book are a tribute to the town and people I call my own.