Almeida: an artist who worked for the pressJoão Farkas
By 2006, there was a computer on every desk in the Pesquisa FAPESP newsroom, except for that of art editor Hélio de Almeida. His desk, where he drew designs for each article, had only a telephone, some sketches, and a jar full of colored pencils. His studio was just the same. He used to say that working on the computer had become indispensable, but that did not mean a designer had to stop drawing sketches by hand. For him, this habit allowed him to better express his creative intentions. Almeida almost always worked for newspapers and magazines. A multiskilled artist, he created posters, illustrations, and logos, made sculptures and danglers, and was responsible for some of the most expressive graphic designs for books published by Companhia das Letras. At Pesquisa FAPESP, where he worked from 1999 to 2006, he established a high standard of graphic quality that has been followed ever since his departure. He died of a heart attack on July 20, at the age of 80.
Born in São Paulo, Almeida began working for the art department of the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper in 1963. In 1968, he was invited to join the team of Veja magazine, published by Abril, where he worked until 1973. That year, he returned to Folha de S.Paulo to work on its new graphic design project: Ilustrada. Soon after, he helped found the magazine IstoÉ (1976). The same team launched Jornal da República in 1979, a venture that only lasted six months.
In the mid-1980s, the designer returned to Abril for the reformulation of the magazine Exame, Melhores e Maiores and to help launch Exame VIP e Exame Informática. He was later hired as art director for the publishing house Globo, where he worked on Globo Rural and Moda Brasil and was responsible for the graphics for books released between 1986 and 1989. At the same time, he created posters for plays, exhibitions, and art collectives, and created logos and designs for institutions and companies.
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In 1989, Almeida began working for the publishing house Companhia das Letras. According to an Instagram post by the company’s founder, Luiz Schwarcz, the graphic artist played a fundamental role in the publisher’s history. “Over time, Hélio de Almeida helped establish an important part of Companhia das Letras’s image,” he said. “I met him when I very boldly sought out the famous graphic artist to illustrate the works of Rubem Fonseca [1925–2020], for which we had recently acquired the rights.” Almeida also worked for other publishers, institutes, and companies.
His time at Pesquisa FAPESP began while journalist Mariluce Moura was head of the foundation’s communications department from 1995 onward. Moura contacted Almeida and established the partnership in 1998 as part of her efforts to improve the Notícias FAPESP newsletter (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue nº 155). “A working partnership was born almost immediately, without which Pesquisa FAPESP would not be the magazine that it is today. He was the cover artist for issue 39 (January/February 1999), which had 24 pages and 16,000 copies,” said Moura, then editor in chief, in the editorial of the magazine’s 100th issue. “In October 1999, the magazine was launched in full, with 44 pages and a special eight-page insert on scientific journalism. Some 22,000 copies were printed.” Today it has 100 editorial pages and a circulation of 28,000. While at FAPESP, he was also responsible for the graphic designs of reports and books launched by the communications department.
In 2006, graphic designer Mayumi Okuyama replaced Almeida as the magazine’s art editor. “Hélio was an absolutely free artist, never tied to the aesthetics of the moment, restless in the best sense,” she says. “For me, what best defined him was his fascination with danglers: a free object that only has meaning in its own time and always seeks a balance,” she concludes. Highlights of his extensive career can be seen in the 2008 book Hélio de Almeida: Artista gráfico (Hélio de Almeida: Graphic artist; Ipsis), which offers a glimpse of his most significant work.
Almeida leaves behind his wife, Laurabeatriz, who herself is an illustrator and visual artist, four children, and six grandchildren.
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