Unilabor
Book Design
I led Unilabor as an editorial project from research to final publication, shaping a visual narrative around an unpublished text by Alfredo Lopes. The work reveals an intimate account of the cooperative’s trajectory, offering a perspective that moves beyond official histories into something more personal, reflective, and human.
My role was to create a graphic system that could hold this duality, a document rooted in reality, yet carried by a literary rhythm. I set the direction through a visual language informed by Brazilian neo-concrete principles and experimental composition, allowing the typography and layout to move with the text, sometimes structured, sometimes fragmented, mirroring the emotional weight of the narrative.
I developed the publication as a space where form and content could coexist without hierarchy. The simplicity of the typed manuscript contrasts with fluid, expressive interventions, building a tension between archive and interpretation. This approach allowed the story to unfold gradually, revealing layers of memory, labour, and collective identity.
For me, it was about shifting the lens of authorship, moving away from a single protagonist and bringing forward the collaborative essence of Unilabor. A way of making visible the voices, structures, and relationships that shaped its existence beyond the figure of Geraldo de Barros.
2022 / DeMiranda®
Author/Curator/Visual Researcher: Lucas DeMiranda
Associate Designer: Matheus Pacheco
Photographer: Thomas Mota
Awards
Brazil Design Awards
Editorial Design 2022 (Bronze)

The project began with the intention of translating a raw, intimate manuscript into a visual experience without losing its original voice. Written by my great-uncle, Alfredo Lopes, the text carries a directness that contrasts with its emotional depth. My connection to Unilabor is both personal and research-driven, rooted in an exploration of visual and cultural behaviours emerging from working-class Latin American contexts, where design often exists before it is formally defined. My personal connection to both Alfredo and Unilabor made this process more layered, shaped by inherited memories, family stories, and a visual repertoire that has long been part of how I understand design and collective work.
The project is positioned within this broader lens. Unilabor, founded by Geraldo de Barros, Frei João Baptista Pereira dos Santos, and members of my own family, becomes not only a historical reference but a living system of ideas around labour, authorship, and collaboration. The work reflects how these values continue to echo in contemporary visual culture, while also acknowledging how inherited memories, family narratives, and my own research intersect within this project.











