Mapping Brazil - Design: Organizations

High-end Design
IDA / ART RIO (Rio de Janeiro) - IDA is a fair dedicated to high-end design held in parallel with ART RIO, one of the biggest art events in Latin America. Pieces from exclusive collections by renowned designers are displayed and sold, and talks and debates are held with some leading figures from the world of design. The fair is held every year in the second half of the year.

MADE – Mercado Arte Design (São Paulo) - This event is held in parallel with Design Weekend São Paulo, and targets the high end of the design and art market. It always has exhibitions, talks and a small fair, and works in collaboration with some important international partners, such as the Netherlands and Poland.

Design Weeks
Semana Design Rio – The Rio design week, sponsored by O Globo newspaper, has quickly become one of the highest profile events in the national scene. For five days, it brings together exhibitions, a fair and around 30 talks and workshops. At the same time, different hubs are set up around the city, offering products for sale, exhibitions, talks and other activities. The comprehensive media coverage provided by the newspaper itself and the television channel from the same group have been instrumental in boosting the appeal of design amongst the wider public.

São Paulo Design Weekend – During this event, a variety of independent events are held, all promoted in a single event programme. It has grown since it first began as other events have started to be held around the same time to take advantage of the movement in the city. Today, the Design Weekend combines not just the many small events and activities that retail entities and partners promote, but some large-scale fairs (Craft, Gift, Paralela, etc.). More recently, a partnership was set up to hold Salão Design during the 2015 design weekend.

Brasil Design Week – Held by ABEDESIGN (Brazilian Association of Design), this event focuses on promoting business and export opportunities for design services. It is held in São Paulo in partnership with HSM, and takes place in an exclusive space set aside HSM’s biggest event.

Semana D – Organised by Centro Brasil Design, this event held in November in the southern city of Curitiba includes debates, exhibitions, a seminar and activities throughout the city.

What Design Can Do – This Dutch-run international platform focuses on the power of design as a driver for change. After five years, it is holding an event in Brazil for the first time in 2015. At São Paulo, the idea is to discuss modern social issues and what design can do to meet these needs.

Biennals
Bienal Brasileira de Design – The first Bienal Brasileira de Design in recent years[1] was held in 2008 in São Paulo. Since then, it has been held in Brasilia (2008), Curitiba (2010), Belo Horizonte (2012) and Florianópolis (May 2015). The event aims to build a picture of Brazil’s design output, retrieve part of the history of design in the country and also raise the profile of design in the cities that host it. The Florianópolis biennial included seven exhibitions, one seminar and over a hundred smaller activities throughout the city. The next biennial will be held in the state of Pernambuco.

ADG Bienal de Design Gráfico – This is the leading visual design event in the country. It receives over a thousand submissions every time it is held, from which some 250 projects are picked for exhibition, representing a variety of corporate identity, digital media and poster designs and much more. Talks and workshops are also put on. After over 20 years, the ADG biennial is going to leave São Paulo and be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2015.

Fairs
Craft Design / Paralela Gift / International Gift Fair / ABUP Show – These four fairs have gained a name as the leading fairs in the segment for small objects, personal accessories and furnishings. Held in São Paulo, they galvanise business for many designers, craftspersons and small businesses, as well as established brands that take advantage of the captive audience to launch new products. Thousands of exhibitors display their work at these fairs each year, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Casa Brasil – Salão Design – This is the biggest furniture fair in the country, held every year in Bento Gonçalves in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. This region has a tradition in furniture making and the trade union, Sindmóveis, is very strong and active. It is Sindmóveis that organises the annual Casa Brasil, as well as Salão Design Award, held every two years. The event moves to São Paulo in 2015, where it will be held to coincide with the São Paulo Design Weekend.

ABIMAD – The Brazilian Contemporary Home Furnishings Association also holds a big furniture and furnishings fair in the city of São Paulo.

Institutions Linked to Design
Today, many institutions are starting to see design as an important or even strategic part of their activities. Public and private institutions and professional associations hold events and run projects that help develop design in the country in a variety of sub-areas.

Public Entities
SEBRAE – This service for small businesses has created an incentive mechanism called Sebraetec. It offers small businesses subsidies worth up to 80% of the cost of technology services they hire, including graphic design, web design, app design and product design. SEBRAE also supports a number of the Rio de Janeiro state government’s initiatives in the area, and has been one of the biggest sponsors of both Rio + Design events so far held. It also has a department devoted exclusively to the creative industries.

SENAI / FIRJAN – The Rio de Janeiro Federation of Industries holds a meeting to foster exchange between manufacturers and creative professionals through its seminar, Rio Design Indústria. It also supports the furniture industry by launching catalogues showing trends in the area and holding product development workshops, where designers work with industry on a specific project. In recent years, together with FAPERJ, the Rio de Janeiro state funding agency, FIRJAN has published calls for projects to provide funding for product development, supporting industrial designs by designers.

SENAC – This institution has a broad education and training offer in design, and is an industry benchmark in some areas in São Paulo. In Rio, the interior design course is the most high profile and highly subscribed courses. SENAC São Paulo is one of the biggest promoters and partners of exhibitions, seminars and events involving design. In Rio, its work is far more limited to courses and in-house actions.

APEX – The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency is the Brazilian government agency most actively involved in design-related issues. It is also a partner in some of the events already mentioned. It works with ABEDESIGN at Cannes and the Brazil Design Week. It is also strongly involved in Brazil S.A. and Rio + Design, both held in Milan. APEX was one of the main sponsors of the recent Bienal Brasileira de Design held in Florianópolis. In 2014 it supported and financed the first Diagnostic Review of Design in Brazil, prepared by Centro Brasil Design.

BNDES – The Brazilian Development Bank, responsible for financing much of the country’s infrastructure and development, recently launched two mechanisms with the power to boost design in the country. The first was the inclusion of design as a service that can be financed using the Cartão BNDES. This credit line, in the form of a credit card, offers small businesses more attractive interest rates than other financial establishments. The other mechanism is a call for projects, Prodesign, which encourages investments in design, fashion design, product development, and brand development and differentiation. The call for projects in 2013 offered corporate entities low-interest credit to cover expenses incurred in every link of the design production chain. In the first year it offered 500,000 reais (around 145,000 euros), while the latest call for projects is for up to one billion reais (around 290,000 euros).

SEDEIS – The Rio de Janeiro State Department of Economic Development, Energy, Industry and Services has an incentive programme for the use of design as a competitive differential to boost business development. It holds two shows a year that exhibit the best design from the state. The first was held in Milan during the Salone del Mobile and the second was held in Rio de Janeiro in partnership with O Globo newspaper’s Semana Design Rio.

Rio Criativo – The first creative industry incubator in the country was promoted by the State Department of Culture, and has several startups, including design companies. It is housed in the premises of Liceu de Artes & Ofícios in Rio de Janeiro.

Centro Carioca de Design – Linked to Instituto Rio Patrimônio da Humanidade (the Rio heritage protection agency), this is the local government’s entity responsible for design management. Its offices are in a house on Praça Tiradentes in the centre of Rio, which is also the headquarters of Studio X, Columbia University’s urban studies laboratory. The centre publishes calls for projects for exhibitions, publications and other design projects. It was also responsible for running the competition for the logo for the 450th anniversary celebrations of Rio de Janeiro.

Programa Brasileiro de Design- Although it has not been shut down officially, this government programme effectively no longer exists. After its small team was disbanded, nothing more has been done and work in the area of design has been taken over by APEX (see item above).

Associations and Centres
ABEDESIGN – Brazilian Association of Design – This is the country’s most active design association. It is responsible for the Brazilian participation in the Cannes Lions International Festival Creativity, the design business event during Brazil Design Week, and the Brazil Design Awards.

Centro Brasil Design – Formerly Centro Design Paraná, this is the oldest design centre in the country. Today, it has a national footprint and is responsible for a number of influential events, such as the Bienal Brasileira de Design held in Curitiba and the Design Export project, which helps companies develop their export potential through design. It also represents iF Design (Hannover) in Brazil.

Centro Brasileiro de Design Industrial – Created in 2012 as a new way of meeting the needs of actors in production chains that interact with industrial design, it has members from industry, retail, design and universities.

Associação de Designers de Produto (ADP) – ADP is one of the oldest associations in the country. Although it was once very active, it has fallen off in recent years. The difficulties it has faced can at least partially be attributed to resistance amongst Brazilian designers to joining associations.

Associação de Designers Gráficos (ADG) – Despite facing similar challenges to ADP, ADG still holds the Bienal de Design Gráfico, one of the most influential visual design events in the country. It attracts many designers and helps the association stay up-to-date.

Museums and Cultural Venues
Museu da Casa Brasileira (São Paulo) - This is arguably the most design-oriented cultural venue in Brazil. It has an ongoing schedule of national and international design exhibitions and also holds one of the most important design awards in the country, the Museu da Casa Brasileira Award.

MAM RIO – Museo de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro has hosted some design biennials in the past as well as both Rio + Design events. It recently established a board of curators for design to set strategies and devise ways of including design in its agenda. The museum also has a shop called Novo Desenho, which is well known in the city for stocking leading Brazilian design artefacts.

Instituto Tomie Ohtake – As well as hosting some Paralela Gift fairs, this institute also has IT, a shop specialised in design and craft objects. It is curated by Marisa Ota, who also owns the shop and organises the fair.

Itaú Cultural – The Banco Itaú cultural space has hosted some design exhibitions. The latest, about designer Aloísio Magalhães, in the exhibition space on the ground floor of the institute on Avenida Paulista, has attracted many visitors.

Museu Brasileiro da Escultura – Although this museum is not geared towards design, it has excellent infrastructure, occupies a prime location in São Paulo, and is an important partner for design fairs and events. Some events are held in its auditorium, and shows are held in its exhibition space on the ground floor. The building itself was designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha.

Instituto Sergio Rodrigues – Created to preserve the memory of this master of Brazilian design, Instituto Sergio Rodrigues catalogues and restores his work, and is finishing a book about the history of this important designer.

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