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I'm Adhemas Batista. I was born in São Paulo in 1980.
I'm Brazilian, I'm married and have 4 kids.
I started working when I was 15, and got married when at the age of 21.
I'm self taught and known mostly for my colours.
I never studied design, I learned on my own.
In 1996, my brother had a networking company
that distributed cables and hubs
and he gave me a computer to learn how to make logos for him.
That is how I started.
I’m independent. I’ve worked in agencies
but I prefer to be independent... do what I like and at my pace.
In 2004 I was the Art Director at AlmapBBDO,
and I had the opportunity to create the Havaianas website.
and I decided to make it all illustrated and colourful,
and that's when I found myself.
I had done illustrations before that, but only little things.
I think that São Paulo’s urban culture,
my childhood with comics, and especially crafts from the northeast
have influenced me a lot in this strong and colourful style I have.
My parents are north-easterners and
I’ve always felt very close to the northern culture,
which is also an inspiration for me.
Nowadays I really like urban things, connected to culture and youth,
ornaments, and typography.
I’ve also gone after more visuals in my work,
and for this very reason, I am
interested in comics and Japanese mangas once again.
I think that the environment we grow up in,
and the things we experience influence our work.
Our human experience is very important in our life,
as an artist or designer.
My style is very colourful, loud,
and sometimes feminine.
Sometimes I like swirls, ornaments,
but I also like explosions, movement, and fantasy.
I think it’s really commercial too.
Maybe because I come from a marketing background.
The phrase that best defines me is "I'm selling colors."
In English it sounds cooler I think
I think it better defines the message I want to put across;
I needed something that would speak to my
roles as art director, designer, and illustrator.
But I didn’t want to have all those titles.
Because my work is very colourful, I decided to create this [slogan].
I’ve even registered it.
"I'm selling colors."
My process is simple, I think.
I try to understand the client, his brand,
know more about his work.
What competitors have done, understand the creative brief
and then I begin to conduct a study.
But this is all automatic; I don’t even notice it anymore.
Only then do I usually open Illustrator and start to do something.
When I am happy with how it's going,
I start to do it for real, and deliver a first draft to the client.
Most of the time I put the composition together in Illustrator
and use Photoshop to finalize everything.
I’ve worked with every type of client, I think;
from toilet paper to cars,
banks and clothing brands.
I like brands related to youth culture, urban culture, and people.
But I think my style works really well with food
because I’ve done it a lot.
I don’t like to think too much about the future;
I intend to continue working
and I am building something that is mine, my own brand.
I don’t know how far it will go, but I’m working on it little by little.
I’m calling it AB.
As in Adhemas Batista, but simpler.
And AB works because those are the first two letters of the alphabet
and it’s easy to understand.
It’s important to work on personal projects.
when I have time, I work on some.
I think it helps me improve my commercial work.
And it helps a lot.
The colours and vibrations of my work have everything to do with Brazil.
I think my style, my work, is more Brazilian than I am as a person
because I am very quiet and serious, sometimes.
But my work is always joyful, like Brazil.
I believe representing my country is my obligation.
Wherever I am or wherever I go.
Receiving the invitation from the TEN Project
made me feel happy and fulfilled.
I welcome good ideas and another chance to show my Brazilian culture,
even though I live in the United States.
In my opinion, producing good work is key to being a good designer, for sure.
Talk alone won't cut it.
And also humility; have respect for others and respect for yourself.
You need to know yourself too, as a professional and as a human being.
My advice to young designers is: work tons, practice a lot,
and always believe in yourself.
Filter a lot what others are saying.
If you believe, you will go forward.
Thank you very much for the opportunity and welcome to my life.
I hope you’ve enjoyed it.