Iti-Marleen Plink
Graphic Design Portfolio
Graphic Design Portfolio
O Anexo VISUAL IDENTITY / ART DIRECTION
O ANEXO is more than a venue. It’s a cultural side-room, a place slightly apart yet still connected. Located in Lisbon’s Pavilhões da Mitra, it shifts from a daytime café serving simple, honest meals to an intimate music space at night, hosting alternative rock, indie and experimental DJs. The founders’ love for 80s album culture, local taverns and unpretentious warmth shaped the brief: a visual identity that feels authentic, human and a little irreverent.My design approach began with the name itself. In Portuguese, “anexo” refers to a secondary space, a room for what doesn’t quite fit in the main house. I translated that idea into a logo built on pure simplicity. Helvetica, with its candid and timeless character, became the foundation. The composition of the letters subtly hints at a small building, echoing the feeling of a structure that sits beside the everyday, a quiet annex where you step in and feel slightly more yourself.
For the visual language, I turned to the alternative rock aesthetics of the late 80s. References from Pixies, The Stone Roses and Cocteau Twins revealed a recurring motif: red. In that era it captured the emotional temperature of post-punk, from tension and desire to urgency. To balance that intensity, I paired it with a warm beige inspired by bands like Joy Division and The Smiths, whose muted tones created space for reflection. Together, red and beige form a day and night duality, grounded calm meeting electric energy.
The photographic direction leans into the intimacy of 35mm film. Grain, flash, imperfect framing and soft blur capture the lived-in atmosphere of O ANEXO. People stay at the center of every frame: hands passing plates, a table left as it was, the glow of a moment shared. Nothing is staged. Everything feels found and present.
Across the identity, simplicity protects authenticity. Bold typography, warm colours and layouts with room to breathe keep the personality of the space in focus. The brand does not try to impress. It simply exists, like the annex it is named after: a quiet extra space where meals linger, music fills the room naturally and the everyday becomes something a little more.