Chabón, chango, chava, chela, checar, chicha, chichón, chido, chimichurri, chulo, churro —the ch* sounds reverberate throughout Latin America. And now, we bring all that rhythmic cacophony to you in typographic resonance—a virtual conference featuring Latin American typographic excellence and insight.

The Cha Che Chi conference will be held online, on March 3rd and 4th, as a two-day showcase of presentations and panels on what’s happening in Latin American typography today. If you’d like to know more, to partner with or support the conference, or to feature us in your publication, please email info@tdc.org. We look forward to seeing you in March!

 
Schedule Section

Friday, March 3rd

12:00 PM —
Introductory Remarks

12:05 PM —
12:55 PM
Seeking Approval

Seb de la Hoz & Jason Guzmán
Rodrigo Saiani
Laura Scofield
Oliver Siegenthaler
Fred Gelli

1:00 PM —
1:20 PM
Type Tour: Cicha Art in Lima

Azucena Cabezas León
Alinder Espada Camones

1:25 PM —
1:45 PM
Tipos, letras con carácter latino.

Marco Avilez

1:50 PM —
2:40 PM
Queering Type

Nubia Navarro
Eduarda Nieto
Laura Scofield
Julia B Aguiar
Carlos Bocai

2:45 PM —
3:05 PM
Type Tour: Buenos Aires beyond Fileteado

Julieta Ulanovsky

3:10 PM —
3:30 PM
Posters and Typo

Susana Machicao

3:35 PM —
3:40 PM
Hommage to Félix Beltrán

3:45 PM —
4:25 PM
Writing is drawing sounds

Alejandro Magallanes

4:30 PM —
Hangout Time

Time Zone: (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) [Change Time Zone]

Saturday, March 4th

12:00 PM —
12:05 PM
Ksenya Samarskaya

12:05 PM —
12:55 PM
#NiUnaMenos: The Collective Power of Women

Yani Arabena
Cyla Costa
Fernanda Cozzi
Sol Matas

1:00 PM —
1:20 PM
Why do we want new fonts?

Raphaël Verona

1:25 PM —
1:45 PM
Murals: Take the risk and go big

Ximena Jiménez

1:50 PM —
2:40 PM
Call to Action, Type in Political and Social contexts

Tulio Cerquize
Laureano Menéndez
Gustavo Greco
Daniel Sabino

2:45 PM —
3:05 PM
Type Tour: Pichação in São Paulo

Tony de Marco

3:10 PM —
3:30 PM
Imperfect letters from the south

Guillermo Vizzari

3:35 PM —
4:05 PM
Design in Translation

Beatriz Lozano

4:10 PM —
Hangout Time

 

Belo Horizonte,
Brazil

Our home was built in the late 1950s, at the height of the Brazilian modernist movement. We revitalized the space while maintaining its original features, materials and finishing. As time has passed, we have acquired a selection of furniture from designers of the same period. All of this contributes to creating a unique atmosphere, which fosters relationships between people, reinforces existing bonds and contributes to new experiences.

New York,
New York, USA

PORTO ROCHA is a New York-based design studio founded by Brazilian designers and creative directors, Leo Porto and Felipe Rocha. Since its start in 2019 PORTO ROCHA has been developing creative and strategic work that engages deeply with the world we live in while working closely with people and companies to craft branding systems, products and experiences.

Porto Rocha

Friday, March 3rd
6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Instagram: @porto_rocha

Pasadena,
California, USA

Chabón, chango, chava, chela, checar, chicha, chichón, chido, chimichurri, chulo, churro —the ch* sounds reverberate throughout Latin America and Los Angeles. We will bring all that rhythmic cacophony from the TDC conference to you in a typographic, in-person, letterpress printing party at the unique and celebrated HMCT/Archetype Press at ArtCenter College of Design, which houses over 3,000 cases of foundry metal and wood type. Acompañamos!

Sao Paulo,
Brazil

Come to share a happy hour with us and let's talk about type and design! Subscribes open!

 

SESSIONS

Friday Sessions

Speakers will be sharing their pitch presentations—PDF or Keynote files—as presented to their clients for the first time. This is a unique opportunity to learn how to showcase your work for the sell, ...
Network
La chicha es una bebida ancestral, un género musical potente, es cultura popular, y un aporte del pueblo al arte gráfico latinoamericano. Transgrede lo establecido para llenarlo de color, creatividad ...
Network
TIPOS is a documentary webseries that presents the modern typography development in Chile. Each episode shows the intimate working of leading local designers, with a unique perspective on their creati...
Network
What to tell and how to tell it. It’s about framing the story, gazing at it warmly. Changes in culture and technology have transformed the way we translate what we see, what we do with what we see. An...
Network
A look at the Bolivia Poster Biennial BICeBé and its commitment to good design through the years. BICeBé is one of the Latin American design events with the greatest regional and international impact,...
Network
My lecture will deal with the way I use letters in my work, dedicated to culture, social manifestations, daily influences from my environment, my city and my country, handwriting, typography, proces...
Network
Location:Greco Design Rua Rio Verde, 150 Anchieta – Belo Horizonte – MG – Brasil Local Time: 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Network
Location:Tátil Design Rua Fradique Coutinho, 2207 - Pinheiros - São Paulo / SP / Brazil Local Time: 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm 
Network
Location:Porto RochaTo be shared with attendees at a later date Local Time: 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Network

Saturday Sessions

Three different projects, three distinctive designers, one client, one goal: celebrating women’s day through typograph. Projects as commissioned by the Centro Cultural Recolera over the years.
Network
We could just say that it's exciting to create them. Beyond that, Raphaël, {founder of Altiplano}, questions the relationship between the typographic landscape and our creolized world. He will try to ...
Network
Painting a mural sounds like a whole new world, and it can be scary when you come from working at a desk on a computer, iPad, or a piece of paper. I did that transition (I'm still working on it), and ...
Network
Type plays a role in political communication, conveying ideology through the anatomy of its letterforms and how is placed in our landscape. In this session speakers will showcase work aimed to raise a...
Network
A safari through the city of São Paulo in search of Pixação. The originality of the design of the letters. Examples of how this style influences Brazilian type design.
Network
The ways in which the cultural context influences my profession, nourish the idea that perfection—as subjectivity—goes against expressiveness and the search for new paradigms around typographic desi...
Network
I’ll be sharing my latest typographic projects through the lens of translation. As a Mexican American woman, the concept of translation has been a part of my life since childhood interpreting between ...
Network
Location:HMCT ArtCenter South Campus, 950 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena CA 91105 Local Time: 3:45 pm - 5:45 pm 
Network
 
Speakers Section
Julia B Aguiar

Julia B Aguiar


JKR
Julia is a non-binary* designer based in Brasília, currently working as a Senior Designer at JKR. They're the co-founder of Anywhere Studio along with Carlos Bocai – an everywhere-based creative practice – and a teacher at the online school Aprender Design.They’ve been collaborating with studios such as &Walsh (US), OMSE (UK) and leading projects for breakthrough Brazilian brands such as do bem™ and Fazenda Futuro at Hardcuore (BR). Julia has got a BA in Visual Communication at PUC-Rio and multiple extracurricular certificates in the areas of Branding, Strategy, and Coding. Their work has been featured in "The Design Kids", recognized by "The Dieline" and multiple editions of the "Latin America Design Awards".

Insta: @juliabaguiar

Yani Arabena

Yani Arabena


YaniGuille&Co.
Yani Arabena is an Art Director and Type Designer based in Buenos Aires. Co-founder of YaniGuille&Co., a studio specialized in Type Design, illustration and lettering. Yani’s notorious interest in Calligraphy applied to Graphic Design lead her to relate with design in a different way, also applying these resources in typographic projects that today are part of Sudtipos’ catalog.

Insta: @yaniguille
Web: yaniguille.com
Marco Avilez

Marco Avilez


TIPOS
Marco Avilez is a Visual Communication Designer from Santiago, Chile. He studied at the Metropolitan Technological University (UTEM) of Chile, and is the Director and Executive Producer of the serie "Tipos, letras con carácter latino". He specializes in audiovisual works of motion graphics, animation, post-production and VJing. Since 2010 he is co-founder, director and executive producer of KRFT Studio, an design and animation studio, working with successful series, documentaries and animations awarded in Chile and abroad. He is very close to the music world, so has toured with various chilean bands as a VJ, photographer and light designer artist and also, maintains his own post-rock and ambient musical project, “Ciudad de Tar”.

Insta: @marcoavilez
Web: serietipos.cl
Carlos Bocai

Carlos Bocai


Base Design
Carlos Bocai is a designer from Rio de Janeiro based in New York, currently a Senior Designer at Base NY – previously at Jones Knowles Ritchie, &Walsh, and Gretel. He's worked at studios worldwide, such as Atolón de Mororoa in Montevideo, and TUUT in Rio. Carlos is also the co-founder of Anywhere Studio with Julia B Aguiar — an everywhere-based creative practice. Alongside Julia, he teaches the course “Decoding Identities” at Aprender Design. Carlos studied at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. His work has been recognized by The Design Kids Awards, Brasil Design Award, and multiple editions of the Latin American Design Awards.

Insta: @carlosbocai
Web: carlosbocai.works
Azucena Cabezas León

Azucena Cabezas León


Carga Máxima
Artista plástico visual y diseñador gráfico, egresado de la maestría en arte peruano y latinoamericano de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Experiencia profesional en pintura mural, rotulado, ilustración, y lettering. Investigación y difusión de la gráfica popular. Carga Máxima: Estudio de arte y diseño creado en 2014 por Azucena Cabezas León y Alinder Espada Camones. Investiga y difunde la gráfica peruana mediante talleres y servicios de diseño. El Taller de Letreros se ha impartido en países de Latinoamérica y Europa con el objetivo de revalorar las diferentes manifestaciones gráficas que forman parte de la identidad de las grandes ciudades.

Insta: @cargamaxima.pe
Web: cargamaxima.pe
Tulio Cerquize

Tulio Cerquize


Túlio Cerquize is a Brazilian graphic designer and illustrator. Graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and is currently based in São Paulo. He has been working with books since 2011, collaborating with the most diverse publishers and authors. Among the highlights of his career are works selected for the AIGA 50 books / 50 covers competition, the Latin American Design Awards, the Type Directors Club Certificate of Typographic Excellence, and the ADG design biennial. He believes that design and art can be powerful tools of expression and social change.

Insta: @tuliocerquize
Web: tuliocerquize.com
Cyla Costa

Cyla Costa


Cyla Costa is a Lettering Artist, Designer and Illustrator born from the complex mixture of cultures that is Brazil. She designs the most varied letterforms for all kinds of projects in which letters play a fundamental role, especially book covers, branding projects, posters and murals. Her studio is in Curitiba, her hometown, where she works for clients from all over the world. In the last 10 years working with lettering, her work has been awarded and published several times and is known for its vibrant palettes and versatility of visual languages.

Insta: @cylacosta
Web: cylacosta.com
Fernanda Cozzi

Fernanda Cozzi


Independent Type Designer
Talkative and passionate about letters, Fernanda Cozzi is an independent type designer from Buenos Aires. She teaches, speaks, and participates in various spaces around typography and her work has been selected for several typography exhibitions, such as Tipos Latinos, Pangramme, TDC, and Founders Type.

Insta: @fercozzi_letras
Web: fercozzi.com
Tony de Marco

Tony de Marco


Tony de Marco is a type designer, photographer, and visual artist. He started as an illustrator for the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. Creator and editor of Macmania magazine (1994-2004). He was awarded in 2003, along with Caio de Marco, in the Linotype International Type Design Contest by the Samba font. Co-edits, with Claudio Rocha, the Tupigrafia magazine since 2000, about typography, letterpress, calligraphy, and type design. Recently, with Monica Rizzolli, he launched the Tomorrow (GoogleFonts) and Just Pixo (LatinoType) families. He is currently a partner and art director at the communication startup Meio.


Web: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macmania https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupigrafia https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Tomorrow https://www.latinotype.com/typography/just-pixo https://www.youtube.com/@meio
Alinder Espada Camones

Alinder Espada Camones


Carga Máxima
Artista plástico visual y diseñador gráfico, egresado de la maestría en arte peruano y latinoamericano de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Experiencia profesional en pintura mural, rotulado, ilustración, y lettering. Investigación y difusión de la gráfica popular. Carga Máxima: Estudio de arte y diseño creado en 2014 por Azucena Cabezas León y Alinder Espada Camones. Investiga y difunde la gráfica peruana mediante talleres y servicios de diseño. El Taller de Letreros se ha impartido en países de Latinoamérica y Europa con el objetivo de revalorar las diferentes manifestaciones gráficas que forman parte de la identidad de las grandes ciudades.

Insta: @cargamaxima.pe
Web: cargamaxima.pe
Fred Gelli

Fred Gelli


Tátil Design
Fred Gelli is co-founder and CEO of Tátil Design, a strategic consultancy that uses design to create sustainable connections between people and brands, such as Coca-Cola, Netflix, P&G, Natura and TIM. Over his 30 year trajectory, he has collected over 100 national and international awards, including: iF Design Award, IDEA USA, D&AD, and Cannes Lions. He has participated as judge in a few of the most important international design awards, such as D&AD (2007), 55th Cannes Lions (2008) and Jury President in the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity (2016).

Insta: @fredgelli

Gustavo Greco

Gustavo Greco


GRECO
Gustavo Greco is the founder and Creative Director of GRECO, a design company operating since 2005, that is recognized as one of the most highly awarded in Brazil. Over a brief span of time the firm has won the following awards: Design Lions at the Cannes Festival, D&AD, Grand Prix at the Red Dot Design Award, iF Communication Award, Prêmios Lusófonos, London International Awards and Award and mention at the Bienal Iberoamericana de Diseño. Gustavo dedicates himself to initiatives for diffusing design throughout Brazilian society, as a professor in two Post Graduate programs, as part of the Board of the Brazilian Design Companies Association and as the Red Dot Design Awards Ambassador in Brazil. He is frequently invited to represent Brazil in International Design Juries and was the last curator of the Brazilian Biennial Design (ADG-BRASIL 2019)

Insta: @gustavogreco
Web: grecodesign.com.br
Seb de la Hoz & Jason Guzmán

Seb de la Hoz & Jason Guzmán


Bastarda Type
Bastarda focuses on the typographic treatment mainly through the design of brand identities, from projects of logo refinements, custom fonts and an emphasis on numerical signs. The studio typographic projects have been awarded by the LAD Fest, the BID Ibero-American Design Biennial, and Communication Arts. Founded in Bogotá at the end of 2016 by Seb de la Hoz, MA in type design from the University of Reading, UK. and Jason Guzmán, a graphic designer who has mainly trained as a self-taught artist. As a way of working, the doors have been opened to other typographers and students to consolidate a new point of view regarding the design of typefaces in Latin America. Bastarda has recently opened digital doors in New York with the intention of permeating our typographic vision from the Global South.

Insta: @bastardatype
Web: bastardatype.com
Ximena Jiménez

Ximena Jiménez


Ximena Jiménez, is a queer lettering artist and muralist from Cali, Colombia and actually based in Bogotá. Her path as a letterer started in 2014 in the academy while she was living in Buenos Aires, time she spent studying and learning all the rules and the formal bases around the letter. In 2019 she met graffiti and started a new pursuit for something freer and more personal in her graphic lettering style. Her work actually moves between the formal bases and their own deconstruction through constant experimentation around textures, irregular strokes, ink, spray paint and brushes, going from paper or digital in small formats, to big scale murals. Over the last years she has worked with companies like Facebook, The Washington Post, Adidas, Nokia, Adobe, Munsingwear Japan, and many others.

Insta: @jimenezlettering
Web: jimenezlettering.com
Beatriz Lozano

Beatriz Lozano


Beatriz is a designer, typographer, and educator exploring how technology can push typography to exist at the intersection of the physical and digital world. She teaches interaction design at Parsons and was formerly a design director at Sunday Afternoon. Originally on the path to becoming a mechanical engineer, Beatriz shifted to graphic design as her involvement in immigrant rights activism exposed her to the power of visual communication. Her work has been recognized by the ADC, TDC, Communication arts, and PRINT. Some of her clients include ESPN, Target, and Apple.

Insta: @beatloz
Web: beatrizl.com
Susana Machicao

Susana Machicao


Machicao Design / BICeBé
Susana Machicao is a Bolivian graphic designer, visual communicator and cultural manager. Director of the Biennial of Poster Bolivia BICeBé, Regional Coordinator of Tipos Latinos, Biennial of Latin American Typography of Tipografía Latinos. Founder and director of LATAM_D platform that joins together designers of fashion, industrial, product and graphic design in Latin America. Founder and director of the community Graphic Designers Bolivia and creator of the Women Designers Project.

Insta: @lamachicao
Web: machicaodesign.com
Alejandro Magallanes

Alejandro Magallanes


In 2022 Alejandro Magallanes is already 50 years old, in 2023 he will be 51 years old, and so on. He has been designing thousands of printed matter for almost 30 years. He has been a member of AGI for 18 years, and for 21 years he has been the father of his daughter María. For 10 years he has also been working professionally as a visual artist, and as a poet for 11 years. He has written 11 books for children and this year, 2022, his 5th book of poetry was published. He has been sick with covid once. All the time he continues to enjoy what he does. He thinks that labels are for those who need them.

Insta: @magallanes71
Web: alejandromagallanes.com
Laureano Menéndez

Laureano Menéndez


BBDO
I'm Laureano Menéndez and I'm 29 years old. I was born in Nicaragua and raised in Guatemala. My father is Argentinian and used to be a mediator of armed conflicts in Central America, and my mother is a brave Spaniard woman who has been there for him all along. I finished my studies in Buenos Aires and started as a Trainee in the Craft and Art Department at BBDO Argentina. (I didn't had a clue at the time about how to design anything, but it was an opportunity to get into one of the best advertising agencies in Latin America). In short, a few years later, thanks to the patience and trust of my former boss, my incredible team and colleagues, and countless youtube video tutorials I am the current Head of Design at BBDO Argentina.


Web: behance.net/laumenende647f
Nubia Navarro

Nubia Navarro


Nubikini Studio
Nubia Navarro, better known as Nubikini, is a Venezuelan graphic designer, lettering artist, and brand developer. Her work is known for being bold, colorful and bright. When she is not designing on the computer, she’s doodling at some coffee shop or in a taxi while she moves around the city. Her work has taken her to different places including Dominican Republic, Perú, and Colombia. Always bold, never regular as a daily mantra helps me navigate between projects, references, and new tasks during the day.

Insta: @nubikini
Web: nubikinistudio.com
Eduarda Nieto

Eduarda Nieto


Eduarda Nieto (she/they) is a creative designer, art director and artist. Currently working as a Senior Designer at AKQA Sweden/London From Bahia, Brazil and now based in Sweden. Their work goes across multi-languages in graphic design with special dedication to heritage and queer culture. With a special interest in type and cultural symbolisms Eduarda is passionate about reinforcing her culture and transforming old paradigms in Graphic Design.

Insta: @dunieto
Web: eduardanieto.cc
Daniel Sabino

Daniel Sabino


Blackletra Type Foundry
Daniel Sabino is the founder and lead Type Designer of Blackletra Type Foundry. He studied Communication in São Paulo, Brazil and holds an MA in Advanced Typography at EINA/UAB (Barcelona). His first typeface, Karol, was awarded the Certificate of Excellence from the New York Type Directors Club in 2012. Three years later, Haltrix received the same accolade. Daniel’s work has also been recognized by Bienal Tipos Latinos, Red Dot Award, Brasil Design Awards, Premios Laus, Morisawa and Bienal da ADG.

Insta: @daniel____sabino
Web: blackletra.com
Rodrigo Saiani

Rodrigo Saiani


Plau
Rodrigo Saiani is trying to make type as popular in the world as music, starting in Brazil. Saiani is getting closer everyday by making typefaces for people and the brands they love, creating workshops and talking about type with pretty much anyone willing to listen. Saiani has won two Golden Lions at Cannes and awards at the Type Directors Club, D&AD, Latin American Design, and Brazil Design Awards, to name a few.

Insta: @rodrigosaiani
Web: plau.design
Oliver Siegenthaler

Oliver Siegenthaler


S & Co.
Oliver Siegenthaler is a Colombian designer with Swiss roots. He holds a BA in Graphic Design from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University of Bogota and a MA in graphic production and packaging management at Elisava, Barcelona. For the past decade Oliver has been at the helm of his eponymous branding studio S&Co. His work has been published by leading design publications, as well as awarded by global design institutions like: The Excellence Award of Communication Arts, Latin American Design Awards, Type Directors Club NY, Steel Pencil Awards, Red Dot Design Award, the Laus Barcelona, Wallpaper Design Awards and the Ibero-American Design Biennial. He has been a speaker in different design festivals in Colombia and Latin America and was a Branding teacher at the specialization in Strategic Marketing of the Colegio de Estudios Superiores (CESA).

Insta: @siegenco
Web: siegenco.com
Julieta Ulanovsky

Julieta Ulanovsky


Julieta Ulanovsky lives and works in Buenos Aires. She is a graphic and type designer from the School of Architecture, Design and Urbanism at Universidad de Buenos Aires. In 1989, she partnered with Valeria Dulitzky to start ZkySky, a studio specialising in visual communication and design consulting. She has co-authored the books El libro de los colectivos (2005), Divino Barolo (2013), and Extraordinario Planetario (2019). In 2011, she released Montserrat on the Google Fonts platform. She also designed Abasto, Confitería, and Letras del Correo for the Kirchner Cultural Center.

Insta: @julietaula

Raphaël Verona

Raphaël Verona


Altiplano
Aiming to create his own typefaces for editorial and poster projects, Raphaël’s work as a graphic designer led him to the professional practice of Type Design. “It was a good way to find the right voice and tone for each project.” Altiplano Typefaces was launched in 2019 and its catalogue includes some of these. The growth of the foundry brought all sorts of new self-initiated and bespoke projects. Swiss design always had a strong influence on his work since he studied at ECAL (Bachelor Degree, 2009). Mainly based in Lausanne Switzerland, Raphaël teaches Type and Editorial design; he also co-founded Carnal Verona (2015), his own graphic design studio. Having lived in La Paz Bolivia, he now plans to stay there again more frequently to carry out new projects.

Insta: @altiplano_typefaces
Web: altiplano.xyz
Guillermo Vizzari

Guillermo Vizzari


YaniGuille&Co.
Guillermo Vizzari is an Art Director, Type Designer and lettering artist born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He concluded his degree at the University of Buenos Aires, where he also obtained a postgraduate diploma as Type Designer, and spent nine years teaching Typography and Type Design. His pursuit of learning and his passion for education also led him to perfect his skills doing the Condensed Program in Type Design at Cooper Union, New York, 2019. His typographic projects can be found mainly at Sudtipos, and in custom type design projects for various clients, like “No Molestar” type family for Star Channel, awarded by the TDC and ADC. Apart from receiving recognition for the work done at YaniGuille&Co., in 2018 he was selected by the Type Directors Club of New York as one of the TDC Ascenders.

Insta: @guillevizzari
Web: yaniguille.com
 
About Cha Che Chi Section

The Type Directors Club, the leading global typography nonprofit, presents Cha Che Chi— a conference dedicated to Latin American typographic culture in all its myriad of manifestations. The conference is co-curated by Sol Matas (Buenos Aires ➜ Berlin) and Laura Scofield (Belo Horizonte, Brazil ➜ New York), with visual design led by Nubia Navarro (Colombia).  

Sol Matas
Sol Matas lives and breathes type design in her beloved adopted city of Berlin. From her sunny studio, she collaborates with an international type and design community. Now she guides new type designers in Practica Program, a live online course formed with American type designer Nicole Dotin. She lectures and teaches type design around the world, and her type projects have been selected for the European Design Awards, the Bienal Tipos Latinos, Sello Buen Diseño 10° Edition, and the International Typography Congress in Valencia.
Laura Scofield
Laura Scofield is a Brazilian-born, New York-based graphic designer, educator, and vexillologist. She’s currently Senior Design Manager at The Atlantic Re:Think, Part-Time Faculty at The New School, and a board member of AIGA-NY. Previously, she had worked at Pentagram and Design Studio. Her work has been recognized by D&AD, Cannes Lions, Red Dot, Print & How, iF, and Brazil Design Awards. She holds a MA in Design Research, Writing, and Criticism from the School of Visual Arts (USA), an MFA in Design from UEMG (Brazil), and a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design.
Nubia Navarro
Nubia Navarro, better known as Nubikini, is a Venezuelan graphic designer, lettering artist, and brand developer. Her work is known for being bold, colorful and bright. When she is not designing on the computer, she’s doodling at some coffee shop or in a taxi while she moves around the city. Her work has taken her to different places including Dominican Republic, Perú, and Colombia. Always bold, never regular as a daily mantra helps me navigate between projects, references, and new tasks during the day.
Ksenya Samarskaya
Ksenya Samarskaya is a strategist and creative practitioner, focusing on all things typographic, pedagogical and with regenerative futures on her mind. Actively engaged in many facets of the type scene, Ksenya is the managing director at the Type Directors Club (TDC), board member and US country delegate at the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI), member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) and participant in the Inscript Collective.

About Cha Che Chi

Chabona, chango, chava, chela, checar, chicha, chichón, chido, chimichurri, chulo, churro, salsicha, chimarrão, bochecha, pichação… the *ch* sound echoes across Latin America. We hear it in words from Latin American Indigenous languages, Spanish, and Portuguese. From south to north, it connects our cultures, showing a common thread amongst very diverse people. Argentinian Che Guevara made this sound so frequently we forgot his given name Ernesto—the nickname ‘Che’ becoming a global icon, enough to evoke the image of the bearded guerilla leader. The Mexican band Café Tacvba, along with composer Jaime López, salute the *ch* in their song Chilanga Banda (ya chole, chango, chilango, / que chafa chamba te chutas… )

And today, we bring all that rhythmic cacophony to you in typographic resonance—a virtual conference showcasing Latin American design and typography. Cha Che Chi taps into the bright, colorful, vibrant energy of Latin America, and tries to answer—what would be the visual equivalent of the ch sound? What are there typographic flavors that are distinctly Latin? What’s the unique pitch of the design language, and how does it vibrate among the hundreds of thousands Latin American diaspora? How do we reconnect with, and explore, our roots? And what can the rest of the world learn from the way that Latin American typography moves and shakes?

In just two days, Cha Che Chi aims to cover the gamut, looking at everything from amateur street typography to agency boardrooms. We’ll see behind-the-scenes of logotype that dances to the beat of Rio Carnival, the biggest carnival party in the world. We’ll get to appreciate distinctive reinterpretations of popular Mexican imagery. We’ll explore Perú’s Chicha public typography, born of a clash between indigenous and colonial cultures. Take a look at the year-on-year evolution of a campaign to raise women’s voices, held by a main cultural centre in Buenos Aires. We’ll learn how type and politics mix at the famous distinctive style of Brazillian graffiti, Pichação. And we will hear from over 25 creators across different disciplines about how their roots connect to their creative process. 

In this time of change and turmoil, excitement and opportunity, typography carries with it our values, our culture, our heritage, and our legacy. And we hope Cha Che Chi is able to educate, inspire, and connect us all wherever we are. Register now to stream the conference, attend (or sponsor!) one of the co-organized parties, and share your vision of Latin American design with the hashtag #chachechi.

— Sol Matas, Laura Scofield, Ksenya Samarskaya

 

About The Design

Led by Nubia Navarro of Nubikini Studio, the brand for Cha Che Chi is inspired by aguayo cloth, street lettering traditions, and the ingenuity of having to innovate out of limited resources — bringing together a clash of traditional and digital, old world and new. The implementation of the design system comes to life with the help of the TDC team, and web development provided by The One Club for Creativity.