Ilhas Studio plays with the possibilities of print by manipulating texture and format

Despite being extremely varied in its design approach – with work spanning both digital and editorial – Ilhas Studio has a “soft spot” for the film and artists industries. Founded by Catarina Vasconcelos and Margarida Rêgo in 2013, the duo work closely and rigorously to make each project they work on “unique”. They often find themselves developing graphic identities for institutions or festivals, or design posters and books “where we always try to play with the materiality of textures and formats, pushing and playing with the possibilities of the printed material,” Catarina explains. A brilliant example of this is their publication for the Ninguém.Só Eu. exhibition, which challenges traditional page formats.

Through its portfolio of personal work, Ilhas Studio focuses on developing projects of an “authorial nature”. In which, there is a "strong need for involvement with local communities and political issues that have come to mark our time”, Margarida details. For such work, the studio sources guidance from a number of notable figures and thinkers: Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson and Paula Rêgo to name a few.