Design em cena : design social aplicado à criação do sistema de identidade visual do curso de cinema e audiovisual da Universidade Federal da Paraíba

Abstract

This paper presents the process of developing the visual identity of the Cinema and Audiovisual Program at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), an institution that, since its establishment in 2012, has consolidated itself as a center for film education in northeastern Brazil. The main objective is to construct a visual identity system that responds to the program’s communication demands in a methodologically rigorous manner, while remaining conceptually committed to the institution’s historical and cultural specificity. The theoretical framework articulates the trajectory of cinema as an artistic language and academic field in Brazil with the evolution of graphic design, from the Industrial Revolution to the emergence of social design, highlighting how design practice can engage with collective and identity-based contexts. The methodology adopted is an adaptation of the visual identity system development model proposed by Peón (2003), incorporating a participatory briefing with representatives from the program’s coordination and student body, whose contributions guided all design decisions. From this collective dialogue, two central concepts emerged to guide the project: projection and belonging. These concepts were translated into a visual system grounded in Modernism and the Swiss Style, with the incorporation of woodcut (xilography) as a regional aesthetic-cultural reference. The result is a visual identity proposal that seeks to make the origin and collective identity of the Cinema and Audiovisual Program at UFPB immediately visible and recognizable.