Cutting away the excess: how Lucas Machado Design became MACHADO — The Brand Identity – Home of the Greatest in Graphic & Brand Design

Lucas Machado has renamed his independent design practice in Curitiba, Brazil, cutting Lucas Machado Design back to the surname alone – a word that also means ‘axe’ in Portuguese. In the first five years, the practice grew, taking on more projects and a bigger team. But he was spending more and more time on the business side and less on the creative work, so he stopped to rethink the practice. That idea of cutting then became a principle behind the identity that MACHADO made for itself, extending across a printed system built from materials usually found in a design office, with its staples left showing. In this interview, he and Ângela Mayume tell us about MACHADO’s work across brands, publications, spaces and objects, and what could follow the architecture and urbanism that Curitiba is known for.

TBI Hi Lucas and Ângela! How has the year been treating you both?

M This year has been a bit atypical for us. We spent the first half wrapping up ongoing projects and taking the time to rethink the practice. That process eventually led to a new name, a new identity and a clearer sense of how we want to work.

More recently, our focus has shifted to communicating that change and reconnecting with people. We’re also starting to look for projects that feel aligned with this new phase. So, the beginning of the year was more introspective, and now we’re back to business!

TBI What kind of design practice is MACHADO?

M MACHADO is an independent design practice working across brands, publications, spaces and objects. We don’t really see ourselves as a design agency. I think the word ‘practice’ is important because it suggests not only a business structure, but a way of thinking and working.

For us, that means staying closely involved in the work from beginning to end, and treating each project as part of an ongoing way of thinking and making. Research, experimentation and a distinct point of view are fundamental to that approach.

TBI Lucas, your career has seen you in both Brazil and the UK. Did you learn anything distinct from each place?

LM Definitely. I moved to the UK right after graduating in Brazil, to continue my studies in graphic design at London College of Communication. It was a defining experience for me because I became deeply immersed in British design culture and its strong modernist tradition.

Grids, structure, rationality and typography felt very aligned with the way I naturally think.

But I also come from a Brazilian cultural background, which is very rich in visual references, art and music, and where there is a more inventive way of making things. I think that creates an interesting counterpoint to the more rigorous side of my education in the UK, and that combination is still reflected in the way I work today.

TBI The practice spent its first five years as Lucas Machado Design. How did it change over that time?

LM After my experience in the UK, I moved back to Brazil and lived and worked in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Those experiences allowed me to work in different environments, from design studios to a start-up, and helped me grow as a designer while also giving me a better understanding of the business side of the work.

Five years ago, I decided it was time to move back to my city, Curitiba, and start something of my own, and that’s how Lucas Machado Design came about. I didn’t know at the time whether it would become a studio or if I would continue working independently as a designer.

Things happened organically. Projects grew, we rented our first space, Ângela joined me early on, and eventually we became a team of five. Along the way, we also started developing self-initiated work, like the calendar we release in a new version every year.

TBI What made you rethink the studio?

LM We were growing in a more traditional way, with more projects, a bigger team, and increasingly ambitious work. But at some point, I realised I was spending more and more time on the business side and less on the creative work itself.

I’m a creative at heart. I like being involved in the ideas and in making things, so that was the moment I decided to stop and rethink the practice. For me, that didn’t mean changing everything. It meant understanding what was already working, what felt essential, and focusing on that.

We weren’t starting over. We already had five years of experience, trusted clients and a strong portfolio. The rethink was really about giving more intention to the way we work and to how we communicate the practice.

TBI Ângela, what has the rethink changed about your day-to-day work?

AM I started at the studio very early in my professional career, so in many ways I grew alongside the practice. Over the years, I gradually took on more responsibility and gained more autonomy in the way I work.

Today, I have a much broader role in the projects, from design development itself to coordinating different areas and the people involved, including designers, partners and suppliers. At the same time, the studio gave me space to develop my own point of view and understand the way I naturally approach design.

So I feel this new phase of MACHADO also reflects a moment of greater maturity in my own work.

TBI What themes do you think run through all of your work?

LM I would say our work is a combination of idea and form. There is always a rationale behind what we do. It’s never just about making something beautiful.

Our process usually starts with investigation and experimentation until we find one central idea that feels right for the project. From that point on, the work is about removing what doesn’t belong and letting that idea guide the project from beginning to end.

For Nommo, for example, we noticed that repetition already existed in the structure of the name itself. We took that principle and amplified it throughout the identity, from the drawing of the letters to layouts where the logo repeats and fills the space. There is a logic behind the system, rather than a collection of disconnected graphic decisions.

I think that way of working is also what allows us to move across different mediums and scales without losing a sense of continuity. The context may change, but the way we approach the work stays consistent.

TBI Creating the identity for your own business is often said to be more challenging than working for a client. What did your process look like?

LM It was definitely a challenge. But in a way, I think the foundations of this identity had been developing for five years.

As Lucas Machado Design, we never really had an identity we were completely satisfied with. We tried different things over the years, but I think we were still building the practice and understanding who we were and where we wanted to go.

This time, we had much more clarity. We knew what the practice stood for and what we wanted the identity to do. I didn’t want it to be loud or compete with the work, but I also didn’t want it to feel bland or anonymous. I think we found that balance while still giving the identity a strong idea of its own.

TBI The identity is “assembled from humble materials.” Why so?

LM I wanted to go back to something very simple. I liked the idea that the identity could almost be printed and assembled at home. There was something very analogue and DIY about that, almost punk in spirit.

That led us to explore very simple materials – copy paper, staples, clips and grey board, materials usually found in a design office. During that process, we started asking what would happen if the construction itself became visible. Instead of hiding the staples, we made them part of the identity.

The staple has a function, but it also becomes a graphic element. That idea extended across the printed system, from project boxes and stationery to notebooks and business cards.

We also wanted each object to do a little more than expected. The business card becomes a small portfolio, and the notebook has a pocket that holds a pencil, for example. One client saw the business card and said, “I need one of those for my practice. I could never have thought of that.” I think that reaction says a lot about what we want the work to do – feel simple once you see it, but not obvious before.

TBI What is the design scene like in Curitiba?

LM Curitiba is an interesting city. It has the structure of a big city, but at the same time it can feel quite small.

There is a strong history of architecture and urbanism here, and some of the systems and landmarks developed in the city are still studied today. But in a way, I think the city relied on that legacy for a long time. Much of what Curitiba is internationally known for was created decades ago, so there is also a question of what the next legacy will be.

What feels different now is that there is a new generation of designers, architects and other creative people choosing to stay and build things here. For a long time, the instinct was to leave for São Paulo or other bigger cities, as I did. Now I feel there is more confidence in making things happen from Curitiba, and hopefully in creating something that becomes part of the city’s next chapter.

TBI What do you want to be making five years from now?

LM Five years from now, I’d like us to be working on more ambitious projects – maybe an identity and signage system for a major institution, or a book for a renowned brand.

At the same time, I’d like to keep developing more self-initiated objects. We started with a calendar, inspired by the work of Enzo Mari and Massimo Vignelli, and that became a bit of an obsession for me. I’d love to take that thinking further into objects for the home and office.

But I don’t want to make objects just for the sake of making them. I want them to come from the same way we approach everything else – finding an idea and translating it into form. I’m interested in taking familiar objects and looking at them from a different angle, questioning what they are supposed to be or how they are supposed to work.

Hopefully, five years from now, the scale of the work is bigger, but the way we think about it remains the same.