Amarajé - a personal messenger
Concept
Amarajé is a daily journal created for the students of Ceciliano Public School in São Paulo. For these students the journal is the main communication channel between parents and teachers, and at the same time is used by the children to take notes on homework and other tasks. They need it for the entire school year, and I wanted them to have something special, not only the blank pages they have always used.
Amarajé means “messenger" in Tupi-Guarani (the name of a set of languages spoken by many indigenous tribes in Brazil). The name was chosen as a reference to Brazilian roots because the theme of the journal is Brazilian folklore, telling the story of one character to begin each month. By the end of the month there is a piece of entertainment: tips about taking care of the environment, games instructions, crafts tutorials, family outings suggestions, amongst other things.
Exerpts from the month of June
The spreads represent, ir order:
- The opening for June, with the theme of the festivities that happen in Brazil during this month
- A short story introducing a folklore character, the bull "Bumba-meu-boi".
- The default spread with space to write on each day of the week
- The final spread of the month, in this case bringing a dessert recipe that kids can practice with their families.
November
The illustrations and main visual line of Amarajé were created in an alternative way of woodcut printing. I wanted the technique to be available for any child to try out, so instead of the actual woodcut, my canvas was a piece of styrofoam tray (which are commonly used in fruit and vegetable packaging) and I would draw on it with a pencil. Because styrofoam is not a strong material, even the smallest pressure of the pencil made its surface uneven.
Since November is the last month the kids have school, the ending of that month brings the instructions for the "styrofoam" printing process, in hopes they might try it at home.
A few more spreads...
Amarajé Display Font
Meet the Amarajé Display Font: a typographic family born during the creation process of the Amarajé Journal