Blending ancient symbols with contemporary collage, artist Jackie Milad reimagines cultural identity and personal mythology in Shabtis Gather. This richly layered new book was designed by Raquel Castedo and published by the artist in partnership with BmoreArt. The volume traces Milad’s vibrant practice through paintings, drawings, and mixed-media works that merge her Egyptian and Honduran heritage with the language of pop culture and abstraction.
Shabtis Gather presents an in-depth visual narrative of Milad’s recent work alongside essays, studio views, and archival materials that illuminate her evolving process. The book’s design reflects the rhythmic and cumulative nature of Milad’s compositions—boldly combining saturated color fields, overlapping textures, and fragments of text that echo the artist’s visual vocabulary.
Structured as a sequence of visual conversations, the publication invites readers to explore the relationships between repetition, ritual, and storytelling that define Milad’s art. Castedo’s design approach emphasizes both clarity and exuberance, balancing scholarly essays with rich image sequences that highlight Milad’s layered mark-making and material experimentation.
Credits:
Book Design and Editorial Production by Raquel Castedo Studio [Creative Director: Raquel Castedo, Design Assistant: Thaís Franco]
Photography by © Vivian Marie Doering (collage tapestries and shabti sculptures), © Saskia Kahn (pages 194–195)
Copyedited by Chelsea Lemon Fetzer and Cara Ober
Proofreading by Rebecca Juliette, Inés Sanchez de Lozada, Samia Bzioui
Arabic Translation by Hicham Habibi
Printed by Ipsis
O Cofre é uma publicação de arte que celebra o projeto histórico de arte postal criado pela artista Vera Chaves Barcellos.
Concebido originalmente em 1980 como parte de uma série de experimentações com arte postal iniciadas em 1974, O Cofre investiga, de forma coletiva, a percepção, a imaginação e a linguagem a partir de um convite simples e provocador. Barcellos enviou a artistas, críticos e curadores ao redor do mundo um cartão-postal com a imagem de um cofre fechado, acompanhado da pergunta: “Que há dentro deste cofre?”
O projeto ativou uma ampla rede internacional de trocas criativas, gerando centenas de respostas visuais e textuais de artistas de cinco continentes. Muitas dessas interpretações ultrapassaram o formato de cartão-postal, transformando-se em obras performáticas, conceituais e materiais, que ampliaram o escopo e o legado do projeto.
Entre os participantes estão nomes de destaque da arte contemporânea e da arte postal, como Carl Andre, Antonio Dias, Lucy Lippard, Ulises Carrión, Claudio Goulart, Bené Fonteles, Hudinilson Jr., John Armleder, Guglielmo Achille Cavellini, Vittore Baroni, Wesley Duke Lee, Anna Banana, David Zack, Pat Larter, Jeffrey Vallance e Kristine Stiles, entre muitos outros.
Ao todo, mais de 150 artistas contribuíram com suas interpretações, construindo uma reflexão coletiva sobre imaginação, circulação de ideias e memória cultural através do tempo e da geografia.
Esta edição reúne todas as respostas recebidas por Barcellos, reproduzidas em sete envelopes organizados alfabeticamente, acompanhados de um índice com os nomes dos artistas participantes. A publicação é apresentada em formato de caixa, concebida como um objeto de arte colecionável e um documento de arquivo.
Ficha técnica:
O Cofre – Um Projeto de Arte Postal de Vera Chaves Barcellos (1980)
Design e Edição: Raquel Castedo
Assistência de Design: Laura Haffner, Luísa Fantinel
Revisão: Ana Gruszynski, Bruna Martin
Digitalização e Tratamento de Imagem: Richard John
Impressão do Conteúdo: Ipsis
Produção das Caixas: Cartonaria
***
O Cofre is an art publication celebrating the historic mail art project by Brazilian artist Vera Chaves Barcellos.
Originally conceived in 1980 as part of a series of experiments with mail art that began in 1974, O Cofre explores collective perception, imagination, and language through a simple yet provocative invitation. Barcellos mailed a postcard depicting a closed chest to artists, critics, and curators around the world, accompanied by the question: “What’s inside this chest?”
The project activated an international network of creative exchange, generating hundreds of visual and textual responses from artists across five continents. Many of these interpretations expanded beyond the postcard format, evolving into performative, conceptual, and material works that enriched the project’s scope and legacy.
Contributors include renowned figures of contemporary and mail art such as Carl Andre, Antonio Dias, Lucy Lippard, Ulises Carrión, Claudio Goulart, Bené Fonteles, Hudinilson Jr., John Armleder, Guglielmo Achille Cavellini, Vittore Baroni, Wesley Duke Lee, Anna Banana, David Zack, Pat Larter, Jeffrey Vallance, and Kristine Stiles, among many others.
In total, more than 150 artists participated, creating a collective reflection on imagination and the circulation of ideas across time and geography.
This edition brings together all responses received by Barcellos, reproducing each in seven alphabetically organized envelopes accompanied by an index of participating artists. The publication is presented as a boxed set, designed as both an archival document and a collectible art object.
Project team:
O Cofre – A Mail Art Project by Vera Chaves Barcellos (1980)
Design and Editorial Production: Raquel Castedo
Design Assistance: Laura Haffner, Luísa Fantinel
Proofreading: Ana Gruszynski, Bruna Martin
Image Digitization and Processing: Richard John
Content Printing: Ipsis
Box Production: Cartonaria
City of Artists is the first full-length book from BmoreArt, Baltimore’s art and culture magazine, featuring 220 pages of personal reflections from leading writers alongside portfolios from the city’s most celebrated visual artists. In inspired text and rich visuals, the book offers a multifaceted and diverse perspective, where authors explore specific moments that shaped their creative vision and visual artists offer bodies of work inspired by materials, ideas, and experiences of their hometown.
This edition is a Smith-sewn book, with thread exposed in the spine. It is Swiss-bound with a soft cover with large flaps printed on high-quality paper to create a collectible object.
Project team:
Cara Ober and Ed Berlin (Editors)
Raquel Castedo (Creative Director)
Chelsea Lemon Fetzer and Michael Anthony Farley (Contributing Editors)
Inés Sanchez de Lozada (Project Coordinator)
Ann Berlin, Rebecca Juliette, and Craig Hankin (Proofreading)
Printed and bound by Ipsis
At once intimate and expansive, Dr. D: Bringing People & Technology Together—a publication by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation—captures the extraordinary life and impact of Dr. Robert W. Deutsch: a physicist, tech entrepreneur, and visionary committed to innovation, education, and human development. From founding General Physics Corporation and RWD Technologies to quietly investing in people and ideas with the potential to drive meaningful progress, Dr. Deutsch's work bridged science, business, and social impact. The book reflects not only the story it tells but also the values at its core: innovation, collaboration, and human-centered progress.
The design was approached as an interpretive act—translating a life of scientific imagination and social investment into a visual language rich with meaning. The result is a book that invites touch as much as thought, with carefully chosen materials, typography, and compositional rhythms that echo the tension and beauty of its subject.
The visual identity draws from key themes:
Energy & Innovation
Linework and abstract atomic forms pulse across the pages, evoking the invisible forces that shaped Dr. Deutsch’s world, from nuclear physics to creative disruption.
Networks & Connection
Repeating visual motifs of nodes and pathways mirror the relationships and communities he helped form, with ideas branching outward and multiplying.
Contrast & Duality
Through deliberate use of light and shadow, order and entropy, the book reflects the complexities of leadership, technology, and care.
Each element was designed to honor both the clarity and contradictions that defined Dr. Deutsch’s path. Through archival materials, oral histories, and original writing, Dr. D becomes not just a document of a life, but an invitation to consider how design can shape memory and legacy.
Project team:
Written by Michael Hill
Edited by Jane Brown
Book Design and Editorial Production by Raquel Castedo Studio [Creative Director: Raquel Castedo; Designer: Laura Haffner; Design Assistant: Kay Nooks]
Copyedited by Chelsea Lemon Fetzer and Rebecca Juliette
Hedcut Illustrations by Noli Novak
Printed by Ipsis
Promotional book photography by Vivian Marie Doering
This artist book is a companion to Post-Consumption Benediction, a two-person exhibit featuring Adam Stab and Jordan Tierney at BmoreArt’s Connect + Collect Gallery, from December 2022 – March 2023.
It was the first publication of its kind produced for BmoreArt, with a unique hand-embellished cover by the artists. Each copy is numbered and signed as part of a limited-edition series.
The wooden cover was fabricated at Open Works with 48-page interior printed by Indigo Ink.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Creative Director)
Inés Sanchez de Lozada (Project Coordinator)
Cara Ober (Editor)
Rebecca Juliette and Chelsea Lemon Fetzer (Editorial Assistance)
Jill Fannon (Photographer)
Vivian Doering (Photographer)
This limited edition book is a companion to Arcadia Futura, a two-person exhibit featuring Alyssa Dennis and TLaloC at BmoreArt’s Connect + Collect Gallery, from April – July 2023.
Each copy is numbered and signed as part of a limited-edition series special for collectors and those specializing in unique art publications.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Creative Director)
Inés Sanchez de Lozada (Project Coordinator)
Cara Ober (Editor)
Michael Anthony Farley and Chelsea Lemon Fetzer (Editorial Assistance)
Jill Fannon (Photographer)
Vivian Doering (Photographer)
Visual identity and brochure created for the Baltimore-based CIELO (Creative Immigrant Educators of Latin American Origin). Founded in 2019, CIELO is a bilingual department at Creative Alliance that honors the artistic traditions of community members and immigrant educators of Latin American origin in Baltimore. CIELO engages youth in learning and preserving these cultures and traditions and focuses on passing knowledge along to future generations through art, music, dance, and cuisine.
The logo is based of geometric forms that can appear in many colors, reflecting the many Latin American origins represented in the program. Besides the logo, a pixelated pattern was created inspired by Latin American embroidery, tapestry, and symbols. The visual identity framework has been extended to brochures and promotional materials.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Design Director)
Thaís Franco (Design Assistant)
Visual identity for the dynamic, creative, and collaborative digital equity program launched by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation in Baltimore, USA.
Digital Equity is a condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy, and economy.
The initiative is part of one of the three core areas in which the Foundation is making significant investments and assuming a leadership position.
The bold and contemporary identity centers on a series of lines connecting the letters evoking a network of agents of change.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Design Director)
Thaís Franco (Design Assistant)
Paula Hentges (Research)
[Para entender PAI & MÃE]
Created for Projeto Publishing House. Written by Carlos Urbim & Claudia Tajes, and Illustrated by Fabio Zimbres. This title was the publisher’s first publication for an adult audience and should look like a little guide, highlighting the key moments of a father and a mother discovering their “pregnancy.”
The visual narrative was created by dividing the pages into two points of view: at the top, we find the father’s thoughts; on the bottom, the mother’s ones. Fabio Zimbres’ illustrations were created based on the white spaces caused by the dynamic layout of the text, varying throughout the book, alternating the pace of reading.
The graphic print production provides a different tactile experience: the cover is gray cardboard with screen printing, the spine is an apparent brown stitching bound and the format was chosen to facilitate the handling.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Design Director)
Guilherme Pereira (Designer)
Laura Haffner (Design Assistant)
Published by the Vera Chaves Barcellos Foundation and Libretos Publishing House (Porto Alegre, Brazil). The book displays the series “Diary of a Doll,” work of the Brazilian artist Lia Menna Barreto, who created over 400 dolls, for more than a year.
The challenge was to highlight the impressive group of dolls together and the uniqueness of each piece at the same time. The publication is divided into two parts. The first one is a photo book, with photographs by Leopoldo Plentz. The second one features texts, written by Constança Pondé, Jorge Menna Barreto, Maria Ivone dos Santos e Neiva Fonseca Bohns.
Environmental graphics designed for Santander Bank Cultural Center, Porto Alegre, Brazil. The graphic solution should use the color of the Santander Bank brand, without using illustrations that might compete with the works of art exhibited by the institution.
A typographic texture was created in order to indicate the paths to visitors to find the services offered in the building, such as the coffee shop, the art supply store and the restaurant. The texture is also used to decorate the two entrances of the building.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Design Director)
Laura Haffner (Designer)
Book design for the art collector Ed Berlin. This travelog documents the places he has been to, the people he met, and the artifacts he picked up along the way. It presents the collection of objects, images, keepsakes that enable him to remember the special people and moments that have made his life rewarding.
Illustrated with more than 250 images, the design guidelines included geometric typography, a structured grid that varies by section/type of content, and the careful balance between the texts and the images. Special collages were created for visually breaking the different sections.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Design Director)
Laura Haffner (Design Assistant)
[Imagens em Migração]
Visual identity and catalog design for the artist Vera Chaves Barcellos. The exhibition was held at São Paulo Museum of Art [MASP].
[Julio Plaza: Poética | Política]
Published by Vera Chaves Barcellos Foundation (FVCB). The book presents the life and work of the Spanish artist Julio Plaza, who was very important in the recent history of Brazilian art.
The challenge was to create a layout that does not overlap his works, and at the same time, bring distinctive graphic evidence to Julio Plaza’s style. The use of primary colors, striking feature of the artist, along with a geometric typography, are the main elements of the project.
On the cover, a window latch makes the book more interactive, and reflects the ambiguity of the artist’s production: his poetic, and, at the same time, political point of view.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Design Director)
Guilherme Pereira (Designer)
Laura Rinaldi (Design Assistant)
[Bolso de Mochila]
Poetry book for children written by Ilda Castedo. The book recalls in a playful way the magic of the games that amused the children in the past. Some poems are reminiscent of the simple life of boys and girls of the twentieth century, others try to evoke dreams and fantasies, ingredients of childhood that cross generations.
The illustrations create a specific atmosphere for each of the 20 poems, exploring paper folding, layers and transparencies.
In 2018, the publication was launched at Instituto Ling, Porto Alegre (Brazil). Simultaneously, 9 original illustrations were exhibited, revealing a bit about the backstage of the production process, and how the paper arts existed prior to the photographs and the printing of the copies.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Designer and Illustrator)
Otavio Castedo (Photographer)
Victor Wagner (Photo Retoucher)
Visual identity created for the education programs held at the cultural center maintained by Santander Bank in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The materials included brochures, DVDs and learning games. The project’s primary target audience were public school educators, who share the content with their students.
The visual identity should be young, popular, ludic, fluid, up-to-date, dynamic and joyful. For the logo, the typographical arrangement allows diverse readings, from the top to the bottom, and vice-versa: AÇÃO EDUCATIVA | ATIVA EDUCAÇÃO | ATIVA AÇÃO EDUCA. The repetition of the frames generates a diversity of forms that serve as texture for the different applications.
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Design Director)
Laura Haffner (Designer)
Paula Hentges (Design Assistant)
Book design for the Chilean artist Patricio Farías, Iluminuras Publishing House (São Paulo, Brazil). The format of the publication is 16.5 cm x 24 cm, with hardcover, reversible dust jacket, 368-page book block and supplement.
It's a trilingual edition, organized by Adolfo Montejo Navas. It gathers works produced by Farías over the last 50 years, including sculptures, objects, installations and maquettes. The multiplicity, elegance, irony, social criticism and humor present in the artist's work guided the design of the book.
Illustrated with more than 230 images, the design guidelines included light typography, structured grid that varies by section/type of content and the careful balance between the texts and images. The book's reversible dust jacket highlights the "Hygienic Series" on one side and "N.M" on the other.
Visual identity and invitation created for the exhibition about the Spanish artist Julio Plaza, held at Vera Chaves Barcellos Foundation (Viamão, Brazil).
Project team:
Raquel Castedo (Design Director)
Guilherme Pereira (Designer)
Laura Rinaldi (Design Assistant)
