Permita-se Sonhar
Years before working at Aldeia da Fraternidade, I was already a volunteer at the organization. When I needed to begin my final undergraduate project, I had no doubts about a few things: I wanted it to be in the field of social desig to begin my studies in that area, to develop it with Aldeia, and to work with surface pattern design, which was one of my passions at the time. At my university, it was also mandatory to create a business plan.
By bringing all of this together, I created a social design studio that sold patterned stationery products and worked to promote NGOs using surface design as a tool. Exclusive collections would be created with patterns that translated dreams, feelings, and stories. Additionally, part of the profits would be allocated to financially support these partner organizations.
Year: 2017
Key words: Service Design • Social Enterprise • Surface Design • Co-creation • Storytelling
.jpg)
Patterns with purpose
The process of my final project lasted around two years, divided between theoretical and practical stages. After selecting seven children to participate, aged between six and fifteen, I organized several meetings with them to build connection: informal conversations, interviews, questionnaires, follow-ups, and the creation of moodboards aimed at understanding each of their personalities, feelings, and especially their dreams. The goal was to create a line of patterns that represented each of them, as well as collections that symbolized the spaces of Aldeia itself.
Some of their dreams: to see the ocean, to become a violinist, to be a dinosaur, to be a chef, and to be a fairy.
After validating the references and visual stimuli, I focused on creating the patterns: designing elements and color palettes, building the repeats, developing digital mockups on products, and producing real items to test the fabrics. I validated with the selected target audience which designs they preferred. I created more than 80 patterns and ultimately selected 44 prints for the final collection.
The name for the collection, "Permita-se Sonhar" means "Allow yourself to dream", as these children allow themselves everyday, For the "final sale" of the products in the studio, hang tags were created with small bracelets, along with a photo and a poem representing each child, so that the end consumer could understand the origin of the inspiration. Each student ultimately received a physical product, and for the university, I left as a legacy a case study book featuring the 80 patterns created, as well as a binder containing all of them in both fabric and paper, documenting the experiments I carried out.
