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Résumé
All work

Editorial design · Print · Merchandise

Editorial Design

Books, guides and print pieces designed for readability, rhythm and the press.

An open black journal on a wooden table; its first page reads “It All Starts with the Record” in script lettering on deep green.
Client
Descomplica Idiomas · Steno (freelance)
Year
2025–2026
Role
Visual Designer / Art Director
Disciplines
Editorial

Context

Two kinds of editorial work. At Descomplica Idiomas I designed the books, e-books and guides behind its English courses. Later, as a freelancer, I designed print pieces for Steno, a US court-reporting and legal-tech company.

Challenge

Make dense content feel approachable and easy to navigate, in print and on screen. For the Descomplica books, every title also had to read as part of one family; for Steno, every piece had to stay strictly inside an established brand manual.

Strategy

Strategy

Give each cover or page one strong idea, build interiors on a clear typographic hierarchy, and deliver files that are ready for production: e-books, print-ready PDFs and editable templates.

Creative direction

How it comes together.

  1. Covers

    One idea per cover (the Statue of Liberty, a student, stars and stripes) that still reads at thumbnail size.

  2. Interiors

    Clear hierarchy, numbered sections and generous spacing for long reading sessions, planned to work as printed books and as e-books.

  3. Inside a brand manual

    For Steno, only the manual’s colors, typefaces, logos and gradient, with contrast checked wherever small text meets the gradient.

  4. Ready for the press

    Bleeds, safe areas and print-ready PDFs for the magazine ad, the journal page and the sock bands, knit artwork within the mill’s limits, and templates the sales team can edit without breaking the layout.

Development

The work.

Descomplica Idiomas

Books, e-books and guides for an English-course brand, from a complete basic-English course to a student guide, a manual for learners over 30 and a culture handbook.

The Descomplica Idiomas collection: the Inglês Básico Completo hardcover beside the student guide, the manual for learners over 30, the culture handbook and open interior spreads.
The collection, one family of covers and interiors.
Hardcover of Curso de Inglês Descomplica que Destrava, Inglês Básico Completo, with the Statue of Liberty on blue and red.
Open spread of the Guia do Aluno DQD on red, with the introduction and table of contents.
The flagship course book and the student guide’s contents spread.
Guia do Aluno DQD cover with a student holding a notebook and a flag badge.
Fluente depois dos 30, O Manual, cover with a surprised reader in flag-patterned glasses.
Manual de Cultura cover with blue, red and white stripes and stars.
Covers built on a single idea each, recognizable at thumbnail size.
Navy interior spread with step-by-step screenshots of the learning platform.
White interior spread on study materials and placement tests, with red and blue accents.
Interiors: step-by-step guidance, clear hierarchy and room to breathe.

Steno · freelance

Freelance projects for Steno, a US court-reporting and legal-tech company: a page for its branded client journal, a full-page magazine ad, editable program flyers and a line of branded socks, all designed within Steno’s brand manual.

An open black leatherette journal on a wooden table; its first page reads “It All Starts with the Record” in white and pink script lettering on deep green.
“It All Starts with the Record”: the first page of the black journal Steno’s sales team gives to clients.
Front of the journal page: “It All Starts with the Record” in flowing script on deep green, with “Record” in a pink-to-orange gradient.
Back of the journal page: the white Steno shield and the Steno.com script centered on deep green.
Front and back of the page, delivered as a print-ready PDF.
Full-page ad: “Lawyers asked, we delivered” in bold white capitals on Steno’s pink-to-orange gradient, with the shield at the top and the body copy below on white.
Full-page magazine ad (8.375 × 10.875 in), delivered print-ready and as an editable file.
Pro Bono program flyer with a gradient header holding the shield and the program title, two text columns, a dark green Discounted Rates box and a gradient footer with Steno.com.
Pro Bono program flyer with a deep green header and a centered serif title, two text columns and a gradient footer with Steno.com.
Pro Bono program flyer with a gradient header band, section rules, a dark green Discounted Rates box and the shield in the footer.
Pro Bono program flyers built as editable templates: the sales team swaps in each firm’s name and the page still holds on one sheet.
Store mockup of the Crest Repeat socks: pale green shield shapes on deep green, with a cream wrap band reading Fuzzy Socks.
Store mockup of the Sunset Horizon socks: royal blue and magenta with an orange striped sun, in a gradient wrap band.
Store mockup of the Counsel Argyle socks: green argyle with gold lines, in a deep green wrap band with a gold seal.
Store mockup of the Sunset Crest socks: magenta and orange shields on purple with orange toes, in a gradient wrap band.
Fuzzy Socks for the Steno store: four knit designs, each with a cuff tag and a wrap band. Store mockups.
Flat knit artwork for the four pairs, each shown front and side: shield repeat, striped sun, argyle and two-color shields.
Knit artwork drawn to the mill’s rules: three thread colors per pair, no line thinner than 0.3 cm and a pattern that runs continuously around the tube.
Four wrap bands for the socks: Fuzzy Socks in a serif headline with a short courtroom line, and the Steno.com script on the back, in cream, gradient and deep green.
Wrap bands, front and back, each with its own courtroom line: “Adjourned for the evening.”, “Motion to get comfortable: granted.”, “Court is in recess.”
Testimonials two-pager, page one: “Experience the legal industry’s most trusted court reporting” with a large client quote and three service highlights.
Testimonials two-pager, page two: “What clients are saying” with four client quotes and a deep green band of service figures.
Testimonials two-pager, made as a design exercise before the freelance work, with quotes from Steno’s public testimonials page.

Next project

Characters & Mascots Pote Cast · Descomplica Idiomas · Correio Braziliense

View case

Contact

Have a project, a role or an idea?

Strategy, art direction, design and execution, under one roof. I’m open to international roles, remote collaborations and freelance projects.

rafaelnemaareco@gmail.comLinkedIn (opens in a new tab)