Queer Archive is an archive under construction that fuels the making of in an imagined curriculum; a curriculum designed for my peers out of a desire to contextualize the LGBTQ+ community within communication design. As a member of the queer community and a designer, I am interested in questioning: what does queer mean anyway? And, as a designer, what can I share about it?

Based on references that were important to my personal and academic training, Queer Archive is a digital archive composed of multidisciplinary contents from areas such as sociology, cultural studies and communication design. Aimed at those who empathize with queer culture, regardless of their affiliation to this community, the project provides an introduction to queer theory, queer culture, and its intersection with design. These themes give rise to three print publications developed from the selection of the archive’s contents.

Firstly, Queer Theory aims to introduce concepts and topics concerning social and cultural conceptions of gender. In turn, Queer Culture evokes subcultures and gender identities in the urban context, assuming that queer communities have been central to the development of the modern city. Finally, Queer x Design addresses DIY editorial practices, such as fanzines developed as platforms for minority affirmation. Drawing inspiration from Paul Soulellis' project What is queer typography?, this publication includes graphic design and communication projects of LGBTQ+ culture. With this approach, the project seeks to provide tools for constructing narratives that react to the heteronormative models that minorities have always found themselves subjected to. I thus echo the words of Neal Ulrich: ‘’Especially as a gay man, I see these implicit messages as a powerful opportunity to redesign the world in my image – to shed heteronormative and masculinist modes of thinking and doing that are deeply ingrained in society.”

Check the books here:
+ The Queer Theory Edition
+ The Queer Culture Edition
+ The Queer x Design Edition