Mapping Brazil - Design: International Context

Brazilian design has awakened curiosity in the international design community for over 20 years now. It has been the subject of articles, and has been commented on at fairs and exhibitions in different countries. By the late 2000s, a few names and brands, mostly in furniture, personal accessories and home furnishings, were the ones garnering the most attention.

In the last six to eight years, a number of events have raised the profile of Brazilian design on the international scene to the point of making it a benchmark in some areas.

1. The global financial crisis (sub-prime crisis) made the world turn its sights to developing countries – especially the BRICS – which were less affected by the crisis. Brazil, which had enjoyed a period of fiscal surpluses and a cautious low-interest rate policy to keep inflation under control, became a target of world attention, much of which was turned towards its cultural industries, with design as the new addition to the mix.

2. The Design Excellence Brazil programme, offering financial, technical and logistic support to parties keen to complete for the iF Design Award, one of the leading awards of its kind in Europe, was an important boost for the industry. From 2003 to 2014 the programme received around 2,400 applications, and around 1,100 products were submitted to the European competition, 786 of which became finalists, 134 won awards and seven won the gold award. With the end of the programme, Centro Brasil Design has taken over the representation of iF in Brazil. In 2015, 43 awards were won by Brazilians – a new record.

3. The Rio de Janeiro state government, through the design programme run by the Department for Economic Development, Energy and Services, has created Rio + Design. The main aim of the project is to put on two exhibitions of products created and/or produced in the state. One is held in Rio de Janeiro and the other during Salone del Mobile in Milan, featuring in different international publications and channelling business for the state`s designers and businesses.

4. Brasil S/A is an event that showcases a more plural, diverse offer of Brazilian design. Held in a prime location in Milan at the same time as Salone del Mobile, it has a strong focus on craftwork and experimentation. Some brands with a strong presence in Brazil also exhibit some of their best creations there.

5. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York included Brazil in its Destination project. For a month, selected products designed exclusively by Brazilians were put on sale in the museum's famous design shop throughout “Destination: Brazil”. Many of them remain available in the shop to this day. Pieces by the Campana Brothers, Diálogo Design, Mana Bernardes and Sergio Rodrigues feature among them.

6. The Brazilian Association of Design (ABEDESIGN) is investing in and supporting the participation of Brazilian design companies and agencies at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (APEX). This effort has already yielded several awards and features. Figures like Guto Indio da Costa, Bruno Bertani, Gustavo Greco, Leonardo Massarelli and Ana Couto have already taken part in the jury and received awards.

7. In 2009-2010, Vitra Design Museum held Antibodies, a retrospective of the work of the Campana Brothers, reinforcing the status of two of the most prestigious Brazilian representatives of global design. The exhibition toured different cities, ending in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The brothers designed the Musée D’Orsay café in Paris, which was renamed Café Campana. More recently, Zanini de Zanine has earned recognition as the foremost figure in the new generation of Brazilian designers. In 2015, after designing for major international furniture brands like Tolix, Cappellini and Poltrona Frau, he was named designer of the year at the first Maison & Objet Americas, an offshoot of the top French design fair.

8. Espasso has become a well-known name in modern and contemporary furniture outside Brazil. With shops in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and London, the brand sells pieces by some of the established names and rising stars of Brazilian furniture design: Carlos Motta, architect Oscar Niemeyer, Zanini de Zanine, Claudia Moreira Salles, Etel Carmona and Fernando Mendes, to mention a few.

9. Since the first mapping of Brazilian culture by DutchCulture, different exchange initiatives between the two countries have sprung up. In 2012, a mission of Dutch design firms and agencies visited their Brazilian counterparts in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo with a view to setting up business partnerships and cultural projects. As a result, Dutch firm Concern and Brazilian firm Estudio Cugo Requena have set up a design partnership; Dutch speakers and exhibitors have appeared at MADE (Mercado Art Design) thanks to a collaboration with the Dutch government; an exclusive exhibition of Dutch design was held at the 2015 Bienal Brasileira de Design, including a collaborative workshop between both countries; Brazil was the featured country at What Design Can Do; and a Brazilian version of the same event has been held.

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