Zé Monteiro

Category: Blog

  • Why Notion is my platform of choice

    It all follows the system of the second brain that Tiago Forte wrote about. Ideally, I’l like all my memories in a format that i can easily access. Random notes, books i have read (and ideallly have my own notes/comments on, doctors appoitments notes, shopping list, you name it…). I just want it there, ready to be pulled up and read again whenever i need it. So far, Notion is housing all this.

    Of course, this raises a few concerns:

    • So you’re now done with just remembering stuff?
    • What about your privacy? You put all that there and then who knows who has access to it.
    • Why Notion over any other platform?
    • That seems too much work.

    First of all, all these concerns are valid, and i don’t have good explanantions for everything. Memory-wise, ideally, i’m dumping information in Notion exactly so i don’t have to remember trivial or difficult things. If i know i can have access to the information, i don’t need to keep it in my head. It’s not exactly something i can choose what i keep or not – but i now i do define some priorities, hoping that the non-important stuff doesn’t occupy memory memory space.

    The real debate fr me is the privacy part. Unfortunatley, i haven’t found (nor looked for that hard, let’s be honest), a good alternative. You may even mention Obsidian. They have everything ecrypted and locally stored. True, but then again, how do i have that on my phone (without paying a ton)? As all things, I reckon this one also comes down to how much you want to invest in it – financially or your own time. And let’s not forget that every change comes with some resistance. Of course, if i’m to swap Notion for any other platform, i’d like it to be more better is most aspects than this one – which is hard to come by, especially when Notion keeps growing and gaining importance (in the form of 3rd party APIs and integrations).

    Of course, my point of view is only viable becase i genuinely find some joy in this sort of organisation. You can go very, very deep in optimising everything – and some people are absolute wizards with this platform! What really draws me to this platform however (since i’m not that savy yet), is the fact that pages within pages reflects my way of thinking about life matters and projects as well. Pair that with a simple, elegant and playful UI, and Notion has got me hooked.

  • Creating an illustration system

    Creating an illustration system

    Outline illustration

    I’ve developed an illustrated set of several components, all designed to fit together in the same ecosystem – keeping the outlined graphic style.

    Why do you care? Because this makes sure that there is a consistent style throughout the whole illustration system, while providing some ease to present regular new illustrations – essential when tailoring to new briefs.

    Home elements – Can you find them in the next illustrations?

    These elements can be applied in several illustrations, such as a working from home scenario, a living room, a kitchen, etc.

    At the same time, we can easily fit an image to a new brief with several variations in colour and elements. See if you can spot the differences in the following:

    Have you noticed a focus in a reduced colour palette? We want it to be as easy as possible for our clients:

    1. To mentally apply the image to their needs.
    2. And to be able to add their own dash of personality on top – for some easily endless customisation.

    Don’t worry, I keep my SVG files and keywords tidier than these toiletries placed all around:

    Are you ready to partner up? Don’t hesitate to drop me a line at hello@zemonteiro.com

  • Why did I start publishing CHMPAN zine?

    Why did I start publishing CHMPAN zine?

    gif showing chimpans zine's pages
    chimpan zine #01

    You can see the zine on its website or instagram.

    At the time I’d been in London for one year and a half years, and my friends back home were constantly asking me what was I doing.

    “Zé you never post online, so lazy. How are we supposed to know what you’ve been up to?”

    Just so happens that I was reading this street art magazine and Dave The Chimp was talking about his own published zines, ones that he’d send to his friends. So I immediately thought “I’ll do one too!”. I love designing, all things printed, those geeky design and magazine stores… and hey! Crazy new adventure of a project! Equally important, great excuse to meet new creatives and include them all in. Why not? You can see it here.

    two copies of the zine, first issue
    CHIMPAN zine, first issue

    I wanted the zine to be just like a “let’s catch up over a coffee” conversation.

    A long coffee at that, please. Some design magazines are so established and serious that you feel there’s a distance between you and the presented folks or projects. I wanted the friendliest and closest approach – proper of a zine. I want to introduce a new cool friend to the group.

    So this making-a-zine idea was set in stone now! I gathered what I’d been up to and what I’d been looking at for. Luckily, I was able to throw an interview with a great artist I was dying to meet – Hedof. And I thought, you know what, it’d be awesome if I could get my brother Nando to participate as well and have a whole spread with one of his illustrations. The guest illustrator section was born. I didn’t want it to be completely about me, no fun there.

    And as any foodie with a passion project would do, I had to include something food-related somewhere. Then it hit me, I snack a whole lot, maybe the majority of the people do. Snack reviews! Again, all of it sounded like stuff I’d talk about with a friend anyway. Off to making the first zine!

    cover illustration, depicting fruits, blue background
    Cover illustration detail

    Curious about the CHIMPAN name?

    Once upon a time, my brother used to call me chimpan just to annoy me. You know, because my name itself would complete the chimpanzee name calling. Brotherly love is the best. This cheeky zine started as a personal project, so it deserved a cheeky personal name!

    Lastly, this project just made sense to me. I understand why you’d read a creative magazine. I surely love the ones I can get my hands on and treasure my time in design and magazine stores. Annoying and boring to death any friend that humoured my idea of “Oooh, let’s go in for just 5 or 10 mins”. I remember that happening in Amsterdam. I came out of Athenaeum Boekhandel with a huge smile, only to see my supportive friends all sat down outside with that kind of posture you have when it’s the tenth time you adjust your sitting position out of boredom. Love’em.

  • What is Screen Printing? And why should you get on board with it

    What is Screen Printing? And why should you get on board with it

    Most visual creatives thrive for immediate results in their work. You work on what you see and you see what you are working on. It is not about speed, it’s about the constant sensorial stimulus of a project and the effort that is behind it all.

    When talking to several artists, the most common answer to “why do you enjoy screen printing?” is that they feel like they can produce something themselves. It’s all about taking matters into your own hands.

    Isn’t that the pure essence of freelancing?

     

    Screen what?

    You might have heard of “Screen printing” or “Silkscreen printing”, perhaps even the uncommon “serigraphy” followed by artists’ names like Andy Warhol or Roy Lichtenstein, but what is it exactly?

    Wikipedia says it is “not to be confused with print screen”. A common mix-up and nothing to do with this. Screen Printing is a stencil-based printmaking technique primarily focused on batch reproduction of a design.

    First, you manually push ink through a mesh that is holding a design and onto a substrate, usually paper or t-shirts.

    Simply put, you pass ink through a stencil and onto paper, or whatever surface you want.

    Your design is broken down into a layer per colour and made into stencils in a framed mesh, what we call a screen. It is easy to picture the screen as a flat sieve, where you block the net where you don’t want the ink to flow down.

    By doing so, you have just made a stencil! Each screen will generally correspond to a colour, having one screen for a one-colour design or two screens for a two-colour design, and so on.

     

    Let’s say your poster is made with only blue and black tones. Then you would separate the two, putting all the blues in one screen and all the blacks in the other. All your posters would be printed in a blue layer first, followed by a black layer afterwards.

    Seem complicated? It’s much simpler when you do it

    With this complex process comes the feeling that you can do it! You quickly start demystifying the technique and realise you can make your own indie band’s merchandising, or your own line of notebooks, and perhaps even flyers for your event.

    That’s exactly how I got into screen printing. Suddenly, I could apply my graphic skills into something I could control, see and feel. I had found a way to combine design with a hands-on craft that would get me all inked up. Once I got the gist of the technique, I then started to explore with it, printing onto anything I could get my hands on (bioplastics and tiles were a real challenge). Six years down the line and I still have much to try.

    I have now set up a screen-printing business. Alternating between my own work, print commissions and a new and crazy experience here and there. I take the opportunity to spread my art as far as I can and meet some interesting people as well. What better way to relate to other designers, illustrators and artists than to share a print?

     

    Get on board with it

    Following Andy Warhol’s footsteps, many other artists have taken production into their own hands. Printing in multiples enables you to meet the buyer half-way, allowing your art to reach more people and thus sell for a cheaper price.

    Whether you print it yourself or commission a screen print, manual craft always adds an extra value to a product of an artistic nature. Not only this, there are certain colours and techniques that are exclusive to screen printing. How many times have you struggled to get that punchy colour that you see in an RGB (Red, Green, Blue, the additive colour system that we see on screens) screen and it never comes out in the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, the subtractive colour system that we see) inks combination? How would you get a metallic ink into your print otherwise? Screen printing is your most accessible solution. Not to mention a lot of fun.

    Should you start screen printing your own designs, I would say the most cliché tips apply. First of all, experiment. Secondly, have fun doing so, otherwise what’s the point? Practice, practice, practice is my advice. You are bound to find some technical hurdles. I have been lucky enough to find a studio where I can ask anything to my peers, and that has propelled my technique and career forward. My last tip would be to do the same. You will find yourself giving tips to new printmakers in no time.