Design was a key element in translating both the erasure of black history and the recovery of those same stories into an intriguing and unique visual identity.

Black Lights is an experience that reveals itself in front of the public through the power of design. Forgotten stories emerge from darkness through the use of black light in a metaphor that speaks to ancestrality and resilience.

The ERASED STORIES were translated into an entire book printed with INVISIBLE INK. The BLACK LIGHT is the main way to recover BLACK HISTORY. The TYPOGRAPHY is a narrative element, reinforcing that something is MISSING.

The work wasn't created to be sold. It was created to spread a message.

That's why it was put on display at the Museu Afro-Brasileiro in Bahia, one of Brazil's most important museums of Afro-Brazilian history. Other copies were also displayed in various locations across Brazil and sent out to influential figures.

In doing so, we encouraged people to reflect on the historical erasure suffered by Black individuals. And we shed light, once again, on this history.

Brazil, the country with the second-largest black population in the world and the largest outside the African continent, is also a country where black people are relegated to erasure: they make up 80% of violent deaths and 70% of school dropouts. That’s a problem that affects the past, jeopardizes the future, and has been carried out deliberately and systematically throughout our past.

While black people have made major contributions to any number of fields, their stories are often left out of the official narrative. And that means that many people never learn the names of the black inventors, scientists, philosophers, and other geniuses who changed the course of humanity. By shedding light on their achievements and contributions, this project seeks to fill that lacuna in history.

Since history is one of the greatest heritages of humanity, Bradesco Seguros, the leading insurance company in Brazil and Latin America, developed Black Lights. A project dedicated not only to recovering black culture and historical heritage erased by racism, but also designed to be an inspirational force for the future. The project was developed with Project Goma, a hub dedicated to accelerating the careers of black professionals, and resonates with the movements calling for systemic antiracist change,and Museu Afro-Brasileiro in Salvador, a crowning symbol of its relevance, legitimacy, and the importance of the preservation and celebration of black culture in the city with the largest black population outside of Africa. The project was invited to become part of the permanent collection of the Museum.

• Situation

Brazil, the country with the largest black population outside the African continent, is also a country where black people are relegated to erasure: they make up 80% of violent deaths and 70% of school dropouts. A problem that dates back to the dawn of humanity,violates the constitutional right to memory and robs an entire people of their most precious possession: their history.

• Brief

Bradesco Seguros, the leading insurance company in Brazil and America Latina,believes that people's history is a precious heritage that must be secured. So,how can Bradesco help to recover and protect Black History (which is everybody's history) in order to recover the past and inspire the future?

• Objectives

- CELEBRATE the names of notable black people ignored by history.

- SHOW that historical erasure is a product of racism.

- INSPIRE future generations and grab people's attention.

- COLLABORATE with partners from black communities.

Design was the crucial element in balancing erasure and history, celebration and protest, in a unique visual identity. The solution was an intriguing book that had seemingly been erased. An innovative edition entirely printed on invisible ink that, under a black light reveals all its beauty and content.

The book was sent to leading figures across multiple fields of knowledge. But it went a step beyond: the project was invited to become part of the permanent collection of the Museu Afro-Brasileiro in Salvador, a crowning symbol of its legitimacy and the importance of the preservation and celebration of black culture in the city with the largest black population outside of Africa.

A project for recovering black cultural and historical heritage, supported by Bradesco Seguros, the leading insurance company in Brazil and Latin America, in partnership with Museu Afro-Brasileiro and Project GOMA,a hub dedicated to accelerating the careers of black professionals.

The book was designed to communicate two narratives at once: erasure and brilliance, obscurity and resurgence, racism and pride. At first glance, the design underscores the erasure to which black stories have been subject, with white letters and gaps in the formatting that suggest a lack of content. To reinforce the names and stories that have been suppressed over the course of history we used invisible ink that reacts to a very ancestral light: black light. Under black light, the design reveals not only the narratives and profiles of black luminaries, but it also highlights the rich ancestral legacy and the power of trajectories once relegated to oblivion. The pages brim with color, revealing the illustrations and other elements that came out of 5800+ hours of research and curatorial work, developed with a team of black artists. What once was emptiness turns into an incredible world of ancestral culture.

We recovered 4 millenia of black history through more than 5,800 hours of reading, research, illustration and curatorial work. The project offers up new perspectives on black history, helping to break away from the obvious and further enrich the community’s legacy. The book was invited to become part of the permanent collection of the Museu Afro-Brasileiro em Salvador, the city with the largest black population outside Africa. The exposition has already been on display for 440+ hours, and will keep on inspiring educators, students, historians and the general public by highlighting black history that goes far beyond narratives of slavery.

For Bradesco Seguros, in addition to its reputation as a brand with strong social values, this has been an opportunity to show that it’s dedicated to protecting all of its clients’ assets – including their history.