Book - The Centenary of Brazilian Cynology

This book is the most complete recorded literature on the history of cynology (the activity of breeding and developing canine breeds as well as veterinary medicine). Given my extensive experience as a graphic designer and art director at the largest Brazilian publication in this niche, Cães de Fato magazine, I was invited by its editor to perform the same roles in this book.

It took almost 3 years from the conception of the book's idea to the delivery of the material for production. It comprises over 250 pages of curated content, 70 participating associations, 17 main contributors, more than 20 research sources, 15 chapters, among other technical data.

Regarding the work of organizing the material: the challenge in this project, even before its graphic execution, lay in the nature of its documents. Some were decades old, bearing the marks of time, weakened by 50 or 60 years of physical storage, numerous transports, etc. Many of which had no existing copy, only a digitized copy received, not exactly with the best possible resolution.

My work, intertwined with the design itself, throughout almost the entire scope of this project, was to categorize the type of rarity and care that the documents required: if, by chance, any file became corrupted or there was misuse of any graphic tool, we could lose it permanently. There wasn't always the possibility or planning to maintain "backups" of materials throughout a century of dog breeding.

Being responsible for the treatment and layout of all the material in this book gave me a refined understanding of what it means to "care" for an image. It's not just about improving its visual condition but, above all, about knowing its history and, therefore, how to organize it and understand its preservation needs.

Imagine the work of a restorer of works of art or printed historical documents. In many aspects, my work in this project is similar.

Regarding graphic design: the dog breeding audience is particularly conservative, in an aesthetic sense, greatly prioritizing the standardization of things, according to what is classic, old, and original in this sense. The shades of blue were used to reinforce the existing visual identity of the CBKC (Brazilian Confederation of Kennel Clubs) – the body that regulates this market in Brazil. Interestingly, in the classic days of traditional painting, royal blue paint was the most expensive. How to inject a certain modernity into a project that essentially needs to maintain its visual history?

As a graphic designer who works with digital painting techniques and often combines different styles, I needed to focus on the demand. I used my organic line work to enhance the tradition the book required, creating details like "gold leaf" lines, similar to many periodicals displayed in museums, even the Bible itself. This golden aspect in strategic locations and the blue reinforced the noble character of the centenary of Brazilian cynology.

We will see intentionally "imperfect" cut and collage finishes, without excessive concern for right angles, edges without any displaced details, etc. A century of history needs to be respected, in the sense of preserving its scars. Developing a niche for so long inevitably leaves its mark. I sought, to the right extent, to maintain and, in some cases, create these marks in certain compositions and details of the book's front and back covers.

It is important to emphasize the intense work done on backgrounds in the book, especially on the front and back covers, where I transformed the textual parts themselves—digitized pages, handwritten documents, postage stamps, among other content—into graphic patterns that embrace what is in the foreground. Strategically, the creation of complementary textures with materials that, in other sections of the book, are the protagonists, the content itself of the page, reinforces the presence of its graphic design.

Example: there is a thank-you letter from the first president of the CBKC for the international recognition of the organization in the "Original Historical Documents" chapter, but the same letter also appears as a background element on the back cover. In short.

The launch of this project took place in 2022 at the "World Cup" of Cynology, on the occasion of its return to Brazil, in São Paulo. The book is currently available for purchase and is officially cataloged as an international publication by the Brazilian Book Chamber - SP.