Gabriel silveira

Gabriel Silveira is a Brazilian graphic activist based in Barcelona. His work uses design as a political language: a tool for solidarity, resistance and imagining new futures. Drawing from the visual heritage of liberation movements such as OSPAAL and Medu, and inspired by figures like Ricardo Carpani, Emory Douglas, and Oficina Larrea, Silveira’s graphics carry the energy of collective struggle.

His bold use of colour reflects emotion and purpose. “I use colours to mourn, to cry, but also to dream,” he says. Each piece becomes both protest and proposal. A vision of what design can be when it belongs to people, not corporations. For Silveira, design is not decoration; it’s a weapon for dignity, a medium for hope, and a way to imagine a post-capitalist world.

What does resistance look like in your work?

All design is political. If you are designing, you are doing politics. The only debate is whether you are working against the oppressive, colonial, racist system we live in - or for it.

What role does art play in fighting for justice?

Frantz Fanon said, "Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it." We are a generation living through a livestreamed genocide, and we have a responsibility, as humans, to act. As designers, we must use the tools we control to intervene against this barbarism.

Can you describe a time when making art changed your perspective?

I don't consider myself an artist. I think that word has been hijacked by a view of art as an individual journey, a path of self-discovery.

My work comes from a graphic tradition rooted in struggles - revolutions, social movements - where design has a very specific language: limited resources, maximum impact.

My biggest references are OSPAAL from Cuba, Medu, Ricardo Carpani, Emory Douglas, and Oficina Larrea - people who used design and art to intervene directly in their political reality.

What is the most powerful thing paper can carry?

A shape, a typeface, a colour. We have tools to reach people - a post, a flyer, a poster.

We can help visualise a more dignified world for all of us. We must use these tools to participate in this process, however we can. Colours can mourn, cry, spark rage or indignation, but they can also help us dream and project a world different from the one we live in.

I see design as a tool, a working-class tool, to resist, transform, and visualise a different world, to give it colour. I like to say that Frantz Fanon taught me how to illustrate and design. Every designer should ask themselves: Who benefits from my skills and techniques? Who am I designing for?