Tabuleiros 2023
Creating a visual identity for one of the biggest events from the centre of Portugal
Back in July 2022 I was commissioned with the challenge to create a visual identity for the 'Festa dos Tabuleiros' (which roughly translates to Feast of the Trays), one of the most colorful and traditional events in Portugal’s cultural calendar, which takes place once every four years in the city of Tomar, my lovely hometown.
Born and raised here, this was one of my biggest challenges but one I was hoping to have since I followed my professional career as a graphic designer. All of the proposal was developed completely free of charge, as a gift to my hometown. More than the traditional poster, I created a complete visual identity, composed of more than 40 illustrations, that represented the traditional icons from the event, and that served as a basis for all the applications.
The objective was simple. Convey the idea of Tomar, Tradition and 'Festa' through a graphic language that speaks for itself.
Sadly, in the end the proposal wasn't accepted, for reasons that have nothing to do with its quality. Nevertheless, I'm really proud of the end result, and I want to share it with you.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I loved to create it.
Giving back the color to 'Tabuleiros'
Most of the visual solutions for the previous editions always failed to capture the essence of 'Tabuleiros'.
The event should go beyond its religious symbolism. The feeling of celebration comes also from the streets, the people, the emotions and the countless happenings that bring to the city of Tomar thousands of visitors in each edition of Festa dos Tabuleiros.
Texture was also applied to the colors in order to give the handmade look of its elements. In each edition, thousands of paper flowers are made to ornament the streets of Tomar. I wanted to capture all of that.
Shaping a visual language
The visual study is also extensive and transversal to all the resulting communication. More than a poster, there must be consistency in all graphic materials.
It is therefore, necessary that each piece exists as part of a whole, which in itself is as big as the 'Festa'. Homogeneity and coherence are very important keywords in the communication of this event. From the poster to the flyer. From the magazine to the social networks. From the website to the advertising spots. Everything must exist as a single organism. Alive.
As a solution for the graphic identity, a visual lexicon was created from the elements that make up the event.
© Paulo Graça, 2022
