The history of the African diaspora does not begin with—and should not be defined by - slavery. Before Africans became enslaved, they were members of societies—people with expertise in many fields, contributing to human history with important inventions that range from the telescope to setting the basis of cubism in art.

Those stories should be in school books, but too often are not. Zumbi dos Palmares college, the only internationally known college in Brazil targeted to black people, decided to fix this. 15,000 hours of work by African-Brazilian researchers, historians, journalists, teachers, and people involved in Black culture begat a 200-page book that helps reshape history for readers: the Black Box. 

The reinforce the project, we used the map of Quilombo dos Palmares, this huge symbol of resistance to black people in Brazil, to form all images in the book through generative design. We created a code that transforms the map into tiny particles, literally inserting the DNA of Black Brazil’s history into every illustration.

Plus, the book includes black boxes in translucent tracing paper, revealing important historical information when the pages are turned over. Additionally, each chapter of the book became a subject at Zumbi dos Palmares College and was integrated into the syllabus of different college grades. Finally, the Black Box has been opened.

CCO: Ricardo John
ECD'S: Cassio Moron, Rodrigo Damata
Creative Director: Danilo Janjacomo
Head of Art: Talita Cardozo
Graphic Design: Dandara Hahn, Paula Bustamante
Art Direction: Talita Cardozo, José de Oliveira, Leticia Tercini
Chief Editor: Ariane Polvani
Copywriting: Ariane Polvani, Thamara Pinheiro, Clecius Gonzaga, Julia Machado, Marcel Ares
Coauthors: Cileda dos Santos Sant'anna, Natanael Santos, Patrícia Nascimento, Rosenildo Ferreira, Telma Cezar da Silva
Illustration: Simon Fernandes