Graphic Design That Works

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Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works

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casa da música

Good vs. Evil

Casa da Música was looking for a single brochure to

depict two different opera performances by the group

Estúdio de Ópera do Porto.

The Turn of the Screw

and

L’Amore Industrioso

were to exist in the same brochure

but function independently. “Opera brochures, at least

in Portugal, are very traditional and a bit classical,”

acknowledges art director Lizá Defossez Ramalho. “With

this piece, the client wanted something different,

something that would reach people, and he gave us the

freedom to add our own interpretation.” To solve the

functional aspect of the brochure, the design team chose

to run the operas back-to-back.

The Turn of the Screw

is

on one side and

L’Amore Industrioso

is on the reverse.

CLIENT:

Casa da Música is an

opera house.

FIRM:

R2 Design

ART DIRECTORS/DESIGNERS:

Lizá Defossez Ramalho,

Artur Rebelo

PHOTOGRAPHERS:

Pedro Magalhães and

Henrique Delgado

COPYWRITERS:

António Jorge Pacheco,

Luís Madureira, Nuno Carrinhas,

Cristina Fernandes, Ricardo Pais,

Brad Cohen, and Adrian Mourby

ABOVE: The cover depicts the top

of a screw that is graphically

jagged and distorted with the linear

marks of the screw continuing

throughout the brochure. An actual

screw, inserted by hand, holds the

circular piece together. The

uniquely round brochure can be

opened either by fanning or

flipping. It is up to the viewer

to decide.

Graphic Design That Works

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Text (DS)

Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works

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175# Dtp:22 Page:259

NEW)

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Because the text and graphics already existed for

L’Amore Industrioso,

the design team focused their

efforts on

Turn of the Screw,

a gothic horror story

about the strange things that happen to a governess

and the two orphan children in her care. “There are

ghosts, and they come to play with the children and, in

a sense, abuse them,” recalls Ramalho. “There are two

opposing feelings. There are these awful things that

happen in the story, but with that, there are a few

moments of joy. When you turn the pages you get

different feelings.” As you move throughout the

brochure, solemnly colored pages gradually begin to

brighten. The juxtaposition of color helps to balance

the moments of joy with those of sorrow. “It was a

challenge to create a brochure for an opera that we

couldn’t see,” comments Ramalho. “Instead, we read

the text, met with the director and music coordinator,

and went to the theater to see drawings of the clothes

and the backgrounds.” With no performance photos to

work with, the design team chose to focus on the per-

formers. “We wanted the portraits to be a bit suffocated

in the confines of the brochure,” notes Ramalho. “To

establish intimacy, we wanted to get a close proximity

in scale between the people who are reading the

brochure and the portraits.” The aggressive use of

portrait photography helped to portray the pressure

that the children were feeling throughout the opera.

ABOVE AND RIGHT: By using

headshots in an oddly

cropped manner and scale,

the design team reinforced

the sense of uneasiness in

the opera, while still giving

the piece a theatrical and

artistic flair.

What Works

Distributed at the end of each opera, this nontraditional

brochure captivated its audience much like the opera

itself. “We attended the opera and saw the people

getting the brochures, and they were very excited

because it was so different—round and colorful,” offers

Ramalho. “The client also saw the people wanting to

grab the brochure. All of the actors and the people who

worked on the opera were also very pleased.”

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