I was born and lived 27 years of my life in São Paulo, almost all of them in Vila Dalila, East Zone of the city.
In 2018, I went on a trip to Rio de Janeiro for the first time and the curious thing is that, during the trip, a friend asked me unpretentiously: would you live here? I looked at the landscape and it was impossible to say anything else – Yes, I would love to spend some time in this place.
Cut the scene. In 2019, a little less than a year later, I received a call from the former creative director, Rafael Conde, who made me a proposal to work with him in Cidade Maravilhosa.
I confess that, at first, it was not easy to think about leaving my city, being away from my family and friends. I spent days reflecting and the conversation ended up moving forward. I decided to move and I was sure it would be a unique and fleeting experience, but I didn’t count on something: that I would fall in love with the city and its lifestyle.
Living near the sea, for those who spent a good part of their lives commuting for more than an hour and a half from home to work, was a real gift. São Paulo is amazing, but also exhausting, especially when you have to take the crowded red subway line at 7 am.
Putting my little boat in the sea and rowing towards another state was a personal change that also made a lot of professional sense, because in fact I was exhausted and little did I know that I needed new air and directions. Although the big agencies and studios are in the capital of São Paulo, at that moment I only did two things: pack my bags and listen to my heart.
And the great truth is that it was living in Rio that I was able to put a portfolio on the street that was well received by people.
I managed to show a little of the evolution of my craft and from there have great conversations and opportunities that I would never have imagined.
It was a pleasant surprise to see professionals I knew and admired interested in working with me and this reinforces my thinking that when we are happy, this feeling expands to all aspects of our lives.
I did a job of introspection, I dived inside myself to understand what really mattered, what my priorities, losses and gains were and what the reflexes of my decisions were.
It’s not all about money and great positions on LinkedIn, and being able to make this new choice is honoring my commitment to making the most of the opportunities that life has given me.
What are you willing to give up and what is non-negotiable? I discovered that being close to the sea and having a less chaotic way of life is what fulfills me, quite different from what neoliberalism claims, that we can have everything if we really want to.
This statement is totally naive to think that it would really be possible to have everything, without giving up absolutely nothing. The very point of a direction carries with it the refusal of so many other possibilities.
Losses will always exist and what is possible is the analysis of the benefits and losses for a decision making that is much more coherent with who we are, assuming all the responsibilities of what we want and are looking for.
Being next to the sea is finding space to breathe. It’s about valuing the contrast. It’s seeing lines, shapes and colors. It’s realizing the movements, rhythm and harmony. It is to find oneself in unity with the whole. It’s listening to the noises.
Learn your dialects. Sharpen sensitivity. It is to contemplate. If this isn’t everything to do with my daily craft, I don’t know what could be. And as Amyr Klink said…
“The sea is not an obstacle. It is a way”.
Cezar Arai is lead designer at Magma
