The Letra Brasileira thesis project is based on three main guidelines: simplicity, accessibility, and tradition. Developed from an original methodology proposal based on design thinking and focused on users, the project counted on the collaboration of teachers and students in literacy, and utilized a dedicated consultancy of the professors of the Faculty of Education of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (FACED/UFRGS). The project sought to contemplate the creation of a genuine and progressive model for handwriting teaching, where schools and teachers will be able to choose between a cursive simple and contemporary style, or the traditional Brazilian continuous cursive model. Under the Creative Commons License, the digital fonts files of the Letra Brasileira family will be freely available for educational uses by teachers and schools in the country. The project had the contribution and criticism of Brazilian type designers Diego Maldonado (Notdef Type); Henrique Beier (Harbor Type); and Tony de Marco (Just in Type), who kindly ceded the font files of Bê-á-ba /Kindergarten, an important reference of the Brazilian cursive model. In addition, notable international type designers provided their font files of support to handwriting teaching: José Manuel Urós (Type-Ø-Tones), Veronika Elsner and Günter Flake (Elsner & Flake), Veronika Burian and José Scaglione (TypeTogether), Monica Dengo (Scrittura Corsiva). Especially Dr. Rosemary Sassoon with a generous exchange of emails, sent materials, and contributions on best practices in teaching handwriting and typography.
Letra Brasileira—A Typeface for Teaching Handwriting
Edna Lucia Cunha Lima
Edna Cunha Lima has a degree in visual communication from the Federal University of Pernambuco, a master's degree in design from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and a Ph.D. in communication from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Lima is currently an adjunct professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and evaluator of the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research. Lima participated in the project PROCAD Memória Grafica Brasileira, or “Brazilian Graphic Memory,” which brought together professors from PUC-Rio, SENAC-SP, and UFPE for research purposes. Lima participates in the following research groups: Design, History, Critics, and Society at the University of São Paulo (USP), its press and circulation ideas such as the role of newspapers in the XIX, and XX centuries of the Casa Ruy Barboza, Rio de Janeiro—both certified by the Brazilian national agency of research.
Sandro Roberto Fetter
Sandro Fetter is a professor of design at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Fetter holds a doctorate in design from PGDesign/UFRGS, a master’s degree in graphic design from Industrial Design Superior School, and a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis (UniRitter). Fetter has professional experience in editorial design, typeface design, packaging, brand strategy, and digital interface design (UX/UI). Fetter’s research interests include typography, calligraphy, and education. Fetter’s thesis proposes a new digital typographic font for free use, and supports public school literacy in Brazil.