Editorial Design for Carlos Azevedo Mesquita Visit Country
Tourism copy becomes propaganda in this 504-page design trap.
This project presents an editorial exploration for 'Visit Country' by Carlos Azevedo Mesquita, developed by Macedo Cannatà. The design emphasizes structure, rhythm, and visual hierarchy to reflect the conceptual depth of the work.
Insights
- The main point is that Visit [Country] strips away tourism imagery and music to expose how official travel copy is built on nationalism, chauvinism, and invented identity.
- Macedo Cannatà designed the book as a reading system, not just a container: the 504-page, black-and-white text-only volume uses recurring themes, cross-links between countries, and an extensive concept index to guide navigation.
- The format is deliberately passport-like and institutional: 110 × 240 mm, tall and narrow, offset printed by Orgal Impressores, issued in a run of 300 copies with 4 different covers, and co-published by Sismógrafo and Calote Esférica with DGArtes funding.
- The project’s core structure mirrors a “choose your own adventure,” with questions steering readers toward destinations promising “the best food,” “the most beautiful women,” “the friendliest people,” or “the most authentic history.”
- The book is an autonomous spin-off from Mesquita’s long-duration performance The Complete National Anthems of the World, first shown at Sismógrafo in Porto on 16–17 December 2023, where around 300 a cappella anthem recordings played over roughly 12 hours while philharmonic musicians marched continuously.
