Interviews with Daniel da Hora

I have more than 25 years of experience in the industry. I was a founder and an active creative (Design and Art Director) for two companies - one from 1997 to 2005 and other from 2010 to 2021. Nowadays I’m an independent designer, working on projects that I can carefully select and that make sense for me, as a creative and if they have something new and good to deliver, and also a Professor / Resaercher at the Visual Arts and creativity fields for a federal. university in Brazil.

I’ve came from an artists’ family, so the visual background was always part of my experiences. Finding the Graphic Design university was quite a natural move for me.

I love printing and posters, but also brand identities as well as editorial design. In the odder hand, I’ve always been really close to digital technologies, and that made me feel really comfortable to play with digital and mobile design projects.

I fell free and relaxed. Designing is a process where you feel like having the opportunity to engane with an audience that is, most of time, seeking for a creative approach on something, and you have the knowledge, the technique and the tools to make it happen.

Because I was very close to my grandparent - one of the most important Brazilian artists ever, seeking for anew, creative and innovative solution, where the visual was the king, shaped my vision about working with design.

The very possibility of being the solution for a problem, specially if it considers both company / brand and users. Also, we have to think about the market and all the possibilities the brand or the product has to deal with. Considering all of those aspects can make a design successful.

During my career I’ve honored with som many prizes, but the most joyful works come from those which can have a real impact on sensitive themes. A very new and awarded project was for a Brazilian NGO for cats / kittens adoption. During pandemic and right after that, the number of abandoned animals on streets in Brazil increased dramatically. But, specially cats, that suffered with fake news about transmitting covid-19 to humans. Because Adote Um Gatinho is an ngo that works with abandoned cats and their way to a new home, we saw an opportunity to increase awareness and also address an important message.

Dieter Rams for. Sure. His contribution to contemporary design and his influence in pop culture are beyond expectations for a designer career.

I love traveling and knowing new places / cultures. When I’m outdoors and traveling i feel so free and fulfilled of possibilities. In fact, traveling, for me, is a moment of pure and deep inspiration. I’m a passionate for technology and all pop / digital culture, but nowadays I’m experimenting old fashioned printing / engraving with wood, linocut, etc and its’ possibilities.

I was have a commitment on contributing with my expertise with NGOs and their design and communication necessities.

I’ve been attending A’ Design Awards for a long time. I have the honor of. Being both multi awarded and jury of this prestigious event. For me, the celebration of. design this event provides. Is unique, deep and gives the very best results or all our creative community.

During pandemic and right after that, the number of abandoned animals on streets in Brazil increased dramatically. But, specially cats, that suffered with fake news about transmitting covid-19 to humans. Because Adote Um Gatinho is an ngo that works with abandoned cats and their way to a new home, we saw an opportunity to increase awareness and also address an important message.

It was created a marketing and communication campaign, using a racional about how a cat would feel even better than just playing around with a cardboard box: with your contribution to the ngo that takes care about street kittens, and put the illustrations all over... Posters, print, social media, etc.

But, then, it was made something huge… It was created a line of products to be sold at a charity bazar. Mugs, decorative plates, ecobags, tees and much more. And yes, it was an enormous success.

We saw an opportunity to talk about a serious social problem, using our creative experience.

All the society in general, specially those who are impacted or like pets.

It was used digital illustrations, made on Procreate software, running over an iPad Pro 12, as the starting point for the whole materials. Posters and printing materials were the normally used on regular advertising and marketing campaigns, and also the social medial assets we focused on Instagram, due to it’s huge impact.

The design research conducted for the campaign began with exploratory research, aiming to understand the abandoned animal situation in Brazil post-pandemic. Objectives included identifying misconceptions about cats and covid-19 and assessing potential for awareness-raising. Methodology involved qualitative interviews, surveys, and desk research. Data was collected using questionnaires, interviews, and online searches. Participants included ngo staff, volunteers, and target audience members. Insights revealed widespread misinformation and a desire for action. The campaign's products raised funds and awareness, impacting society by addressing misconceptions and supporting animal welfare.

How to touch people about the serious and sensitive subject of abandoned kittens at the country.

We had a very good feedback about the design, not only by our client and customers - with is the most important - but also from other creatives and colleagues from the industry.

For the first campaign of Winghook, it was needed a bold and artistic approach to make a statement. Winghhok has a Swedish design DNA, and is neither a nail, nor a screw. It’s better than all of those old fashioned things, and it holds your art on the wall in a fast, clean, easy-to-install, and safe way. By using famous paintings of Art History in a new, surprising way, it's clear that, if things are not in their right place, you will notice in a minute.

Winghhok has a Swedish design DNA, and is neither a nail, nor a screw. It’s better than all of those old fashioned things, and it holds your art on the wall in a fast, clean, easy-to-install, and safe way. By using famous paintings of Art History in a new, surprising way, it's clear that, if things are not in their right place, you will notice in a minute.

It was a two year long project.

Because of the maker field of the product / brand, we decided to have this unique approach.

All the arts filed users, specially those who work for galleries, museums, art fair, exhibitions, and also the final home user.

More then 400+ hours of digital treatment and manipulation work over Procreate, Blender, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Almost 10 Giga bytes of data for each project, including ultra-high resolution images of the original files (up to 600 Megapixels).

Each painting had a sketch over it before we ímplement the final digital manipulations, so we could take càre over the color and líght aspects of the original, using the tools of the software. The final "new" paintings also took into consíderation what elements were erased or moved on the scene, and in some cases we even needed to change the whole painting lightening, shadowing, and physics.

By digitally editing some masterpieces, replacing elements, rearranging known visuals, or simply taking off the scene other parts, we created whole new paintings, full of meanings, that relate directly to the usage and the efficiency of the product. Now, your challenge is to find out whats is missing or different on all of those images. Can you do that? If you really love art, you can.

Extremely important as long as we had to change well-known and famous art history paintings, and the digital technology was crucial for that.

By digitally editing some masterpieces, replacing elements, rearranging known visuals, or simply taking off the scene other parts, we created whole new paintings, full of meanings, that relate directly to the usage and the efficiency of the product. Now, your challenge is to find out whats is missing or different on all of those images. Can you do that? If you really love art, you can.

We had a very good feedback about the design, not only by our client and customers - with is the most important - but also from other creatives and colleagues from the industry.

I’ve came from an artists’ family, so the visual background was always part of my experiences. Finding the Graphic Design university was quite a natural move for me.

I have more than 25 years of experience in the industry. I was a founder and an active creative (Design and Art Director) for two companies - one from 1997 to 2005 and other from 2010 to 2021. Nowadays I’m an independent designer, working on projects that I can carefully select and that make sense for me, as a creative and if they have something new and good to deliver, and also a Professor / Resaercher at the Visual Arts and creativity fields for a federal. university in Brazil.

I love printing and posters, but also brand identities as well as editorial design. In the odder hand, I’ve always been really close to digital technologies, and that made me feel really comfortable to play with digital and mobile design projects.

Always be passionate about researching, evaluating and seeking for new. Also, a profound knowledge about arts, creativity, aesthetics a help solve problems in a faster, better way.

The very possibility of being the solution for a problem, specially if it considers both company / brand and users. Also, we have to think about the market and all the possibilities the brand or the product has to deal with. Considering all of those aspects can make a design successful.

During my career I’ve honored with som many prizes, but the most joyful works come from those which can have a real impact on sensitive themes. A very new and awarded project was for a Brazilian NGO for cats / kittens adoption. During pandemic and right after that, the number of abandoned animals on streets in Brazil increased dramatically. But, specially cats, that suffered with fake news about transmitting covid-19 to humans. Because Adote Um Gatinho is an ngo that works with abandoned cats and their way to a new home, we saw an opportunity to increase awareness and also address an important message.

Certainly, I’d to be a full time visual artist.

Design is the alchemy of transforming the mundane into the magnificent, a symphony of form and function where aesthetics and utility embrace in a harmonious dance. It is the thoughtful response to a need, a silent dialogue between creator and user, where each curve, line, and texture is a whisper of consideration. Design is a deliberate act of empathy, an understanding that materials are not mere substances, but the very skin of our ideas, bearing the weight of environmental and social impacts. In its essence, design is the art of crafting experiences, a philosophical quest to balance the tangible with the intangible, sculpting the world not just as it is, but as it could be - a reflection of our highest aspirations, desires, and dreams.

During all my career I’ve had full support of my wife and partner.

Working with design takes a lifelong commitment, and a sense of responsibility on what’s about changing the world. It’s a search for the new, fulfilled with dreams and beauty. I’m a person that is very into all those things.

I’m passionate for craft and how we can make things with virtuosity. The care with details and lil the aesthetics aspects is something that I really look for.

I have a commitment on solving problems, in a creative way. That’s what people should always pay attention about my designs.

I always make my “homework”, trying to understand the brand / client’s background, as well as knowing the audience in a deep way.

Technology and Design are two unbreakable things. They work and live together. I consider myself an early adopter and a technology lover.

As a designer, the tools provided by Apple and Adobe are a must have, for sure. But also, the handmade work, with paper, glue, scissors and pen and pencils is something I don’t let go of my process.

Because I was very close to my grandparent - one of the most important Brazilian artists ever, seeking for anew, creative and innovative solution, where the visual was the king, shaped my vision about working with design.

Awards and recognition are a consequence of good, committed and hard work. I feel very comfortable and honored with all of those things. But I also always try to share and divide the knowledge I acquire with all my awareded projects.

As a graphic Designer that I am, when I had to write a book for my Primary School myself because of our aplphabetical learning, I was really into the book “design” - illustration, the size of letters, the caligraphy, etc. I can clearly remember it until. Now.

The future will be shaped by design, in all aspects of life. Everything will be mediated and a good, responsive, interactive and precise design will always be a necessity.

I am a hard user of social network, specially instagram (@danieldahora); but I can work very well by e-mail too: danieldahora@me.com

I’ve came from an artists’ family, so the visual background was always part of my experiences. Finding the Graphic Design university was quite a natural move for me.

I have more than 25 years of experience in the industry. I was a founder and an active creative (Design and Art Director) for two companies - one from 1997 to 2005 and other from 2010 to 2021. Nowadays I’m an independent designer, working on projects that I can carefully select and that make sense for me, as a creative and if they have something new and good to deliver, and also a Professor / Resaercher at the Visual Arts and creativity fields for a federal. university in Brazil.

Design is the alchemy of transforming the mundane into the magnificent, a symphony of form and function where aesthetics and utility embrace in a harmonious dance. It is the thoughtful response to a need, a silent dialogue between creator and user, where each curve, line, and texture is a whisper of consideration. Design is a deliberate act of empathy, an understanding that materials are not mere substances, but the very skin of our ideas, bearing the weight of environmental and social impacts. In its essence, design is the art of crafting experiences, a philosophical quest to balance the tangible with the intangible, sculpting the world not just as it is, but as it could be - a reflection of our highest aspirations, desires, and dreams.

I love printing and posters, but also brand identities as well as editorial design. In the odder hand, I’ve always been really close to digital technologies, and that made me feel really comfortable to play with digital and mobile design projects.

In a broad sense, I’m fascinated but furniture and decorative objects: as we’re connected to them in our day-by-day, we should chose the right and best ones. As a graphic designer self, one of my best works I consider was a Communications Design for a Brazilian NGO, called Adote Um Gatinho: a conjunction of illustration, branding, advertising, products, and social media.

In the beginning of my career I used to design the signs and all the visual communications for the public transportation system of my hometown, Recife, Brazil.

As a designer, the tools provided by Apple and Adobe are a must have, for sure. But also, the handmade work, with paper, glue, scissors and pen and pencils is something I don’t let go of my process.

When I’m outdoors and traveling. In fact, traveling, for me, is a moment of pure and deep inspiration.

I’m really obsessed with typography, color and paper possibilities.

I fell free and relaxed. Designing is a process where you feel like having the opportunity to engane with an audience that is, most of time, seeking for a creative approach on something, and you have the knowledge, the technique and the tools to make it happen.

I feel powerfull and useful. Because I was very close to my grandparent - one of the most important Brazilian artists ever, seeking for anew, creative and innovative solution, where the visual was the king, shaped my vision about working with design.

The very possibility of being the solution for a problem, specially if it considers both company / brand and users. Also, we have to think about the market and all the possibilities the brand or the product has to deal with. Considering all of those aspects can make a design successful.

Because I have a 25+ year career, I’ve already worked for Apple, Carrier, Castrol, Dahlstedt Group, Honda, GM, Moka King, Watershed, and a lot of regional and local brands in Brazil.

Nowadays, I work by myself or as a double, with my associate and wife, also a designer.

I’m experimenting old fashioned printing / engraving with wood, linocut, etc and its’ possibilities.

I am a hard user of social network, specially instagram (@danieldahora); but I can work very well by e-mail too: danieldahora@me.com

Working with design takes a lifelong commitment, and a sense of responsibility on what’s about changing the world. It’s a search for the new, fulfilled with dreams and beauty.