Conversas is a series of monthly informal meetings to get to know each other and share projects, stories, or interests. Each series of ten Conversas is documented in a printed publication.
Bottom-up, self-organised, and DIY projects such as Conversas give way to hopeful conversations on how we can do things differently – be that about navigating complex socio-political issues, finding identity and community in shared practices, or fostering understanding through embracing the quirks of miscommunication (all topics brought up during this series of Conversas). These conversations, made possible by the wonderful group of speakers, active listeners, and organisers who make it all happen, emphasise a diversity of practices and ways of knowing that inform them and allow them to speak to each other unconstrained by the strict hierarchies that shape many forms of public speaking.
It is important that such initiatives are properly documented and archived. This process allows a small project, organised locally by a team of volunteers, to become a node in a broader network of self-initiated, place-based communities that share values and knowledge, as we can see in the now global network of Conversas. I see the making of this publication – as well as the event posters and the Conversas website – as my modest contribution to that effort.
Each cover is unique – decorated by participants during the launch event.
Designing for such a project comes with the privilege of being playful. From the Conversas 'logo', which refuses a fixed form, to the posters, built on a grid system found on an IKEA instructions manual, and this publication, which occasionally borrows from punk collages while giving plenty of room to the many Conversadores who compose it, as well as Sebastiaan Helber’s incredible analogue photography, the work I have done for Conversas stubbornly avoids a cohesive visual style.
This is much to my pleasure, though perhaps to the frustration of fellow graphic designers reading this. It is not a bold artistic statement or even an intentional choice, but rather a reflection of the process behind a project that lives purely from the genuine interest of those involved in it – messy, experimental, and scattered over four years, which saw me through different homes, jobs, studies, cities and even countries.
Conversas Rotterdam has made more than 180 gatherings in the city of Rotterdam. The 18th series of Conversas Rotterdam happened between March and December 2022 and was organised by Constança Saraiva, Silvija Almanaitytè, Shambhavi Bhat, Sebastian Helbers, and Maurice Suitela.
Conversas is a project initiated in Lisbon by Constança Saraiva and Mafalda Fernandes in 2012. Nowadays, it's a project of many people and cities.
Other projects I've done for Conversas: