From the improvisation to the solution: the design in the casual

market of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

SILVA, Camila Assis Peres; master's student | ESDI-UERJ, Brazil
LIMA, Guilherme Cunha; PhD | ESDI-UERJ, Brazil

design, casual market, street vendor, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This paper deals with the design in other areas using the example of street vendors for this approach. Here are some
examples of production of artifacts by these professionals, which lack training in design. We believe that such vendors,
trying to solve the problems of their own business are doing a design. And so we propose a reflection of an informal
design in the informal market.

1.

Introduction
Corporate design is used as a way to make businesses more viable economically, socially and
environmentally. In the so-called casual market such solutions are most often what make the business
viable. Rio de Janeiro, which is a city that attracts a large number of people, coming from peripheral
cities and states, is a place you can find good examples of this casual market.
Being a street vendor is one of the few opportunities for these people to insure the livelihood. From the
periphery to the center, along the sidewalks and city streets, this is indeed a bleak reality, without the
glamour of the design world. Far from the reality of universities and design agencies, the casual worker
is creative in finding alternatives to make his routine less arduous, his products more attractive and his
business sustainable. From the improvisation to the solution, away from methods and theories, the
street vendors create their own design artifacts, so as to use them in their everyday work life. They
give it new uses and new meanings. In this article we attempt to analyze this resignification
phenomenon of single artifacts of daily life as a way to make design.

2.

An informal design
According to the press room of the Foreign Ministry, in 2009, the turnover of informal economy was R$
578 billion (about U$ 306 billion), an amount equivalent to 18.4% of Brazilian Gross Domestic Product.
If this informal economy has a significant influence over government budgets, it certainly affects other
areas, like those of a cultural and project nature. We can see that the relevance of the casual market is
already clear to the government, but is the design world aware of this? If we start from the premise
that design should be a project to be reproduced on an industrial scale, we certainly could not include
the informal production in this category. But, taking into account that design is a language that is
'expressed by shape, color, texture and image of an object' (SUDJIC, 2010) it would not be absurd to
consider those the artifacts, produced by street vendors, as design artifacts.
It is common practice in design research to include design artifacts produced before the formalization
of the profession in Brazil as part of design history. Furthermore, it is also common to find
professionals from different backgrounds working in the field of design. Therefore, we can go further
and accept the fact that it is possible to make design without having a professional training in the field.
Considering that design is related to conceiving an artifact or an idea and make it feasible, in order to
solve a given problem. Any person capable of making it would be making design. In a sense, he would
be making a design deprived of academic rigor, but still a design.
Thus, we proceed with the proposal that there is an informal design practice in the casual market.
However, unlike the practice of informal trade, which affects the government due to nonpayment of
taxes, this kind of informal design has nothing illegal. With efficient solutions, the absence of a formal
method to design does not result in artifacts less significant than those we see on the businesses

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8th Conference of the International Committee for Design History and Design Studies

Camila P. Silva, Guilherme C. Lima | From the improvisation to the solution: the design in the casual market of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

market. It is just a different way of making design. At least we assume so. All in all, once solved the
problem, we should have a good design.

3.

New uses, new meanings: the practice of design from street sellers in Rio de Janeiro
Styrofoam, barbecue sticks, tin of food, can of olive oil, aluminum dairy, bicycle and sunshade are just
some examples of artifacts that gain new uses and meanings in the hands of creative and autonomous
informal workers. What CARDOSO said in 'Design for a complex world' confirms what is seen on the
streets, either the periphery or the center of the city: 'the power to reframe the artifact is in the hands
of those who use and, from the moment it is socially agreed to accept the new meaning, this can be
extended to an entire community of users' (CARDOSO, 2012:153).
A Styrofoam box, at the same time that packages and keeps beverages chilled, serves as a display for
them. It is common to see cans and bottles display on the box cover. Some street vendors use the
package full of drink others prefer to put them empty. For such empty cans and bottles, the vendors
use barbecue sticks which are stuck in Styrofoam covers. The bottles are docked upside down by the
neck, and then the packages stay more stable. The success of the idea is observed in the recurrence of
its use by different street vendors. Another interference that can be seen in the Styrofoam is the
reinforcement of its structure with an adhesive tape. When money is not enough to purchase a cooler
more resistant, it is improvised with what they have. That adhesive tape which in the industry is used
for sealing shipping boxes is used there to create a protective layer on Styrofoam box.
While the street vendors who sell beverages establish a fixed place to stay during their working hours,
there are those who move through the city in search of a customer. As an example we have the peanut
sellers. Eating a roasted peanuts is one of the options is to stave off hunger in streets of Rio. If the
peanut is hot it is even better. But what to expect from a product that is far from the ovens of a fixed
establishment as a bakery or a coffee shop for instance? Those vendors know the importance to
provide a quality product and satisfy consumers needs. Thus, they not just solve the problem of
keeping the peanuts heated but take it to various places on the streets where there are few options of
other appetizers. This kind of itinerant street vendor carries an artifact that is both support and stove.
A simple and economical option is to support the use of a food can. For the stove, a small can of oil
serves to the purpose (Fig. 1). An example of this can be found with a seller that sometimes settles into
a fixed place of Lapa's neighborhood. To get around the neighborhood he only needs to hold the wire
loop attached to the support. To steady his point of sale, two wooden boxes - those used to transport
fruits or vegetables - are sufficient to serve as a seat for the seller and as basis to display the peanuts.
Some may argue that the solution is good, but unfinished or that looks dirty. So, we bring another
example that can demystify the idea that street vendors do not care about the visual of their business.

Figure 1. Support for peanuts, Lapas neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro (photo by Camila Peres).

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Camila P. Silva, Guilherme C. Lima | From the improvisation to the solution: the design in the casual market of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Francisco is a peanut street vendor who walks every day from the neighborhood of Madureira to Del
Castilho, both located in the north zone of Rio de Janeiro. He wears a white coat and carries his goods
on an artifact he built by himself using an aluminum dairy. Surface clean and smooth, with devices for
bracket on the floor and handle well finished, besides a small pot serving as a stove. We could even
suppose that he had purchased the artifact ready for its purpose (Fig. 2). But not, Francisco is just
another example of those anonymous people as the designers who also does design.

Figure 2. Support for peanuts, North Zone, Rio de Janeiro (photo by Camila Peres).

So far we do not talk about how these sellers move to their local of work. It may seem that we are
turning aside the matter, but design also has an impact on this aspect. Let's see. With regard to
locomotion, the reality of the street vendors is adverse to the employees who use the transportation
benefits provided by their employer. A great amount of street vendors, which is responsible for its own
profits and expenses, avoids the expense with transportation. Some asks the bus driver for a ride,
others go on their foot and there are those who use their own means of transportation. Not motorized
means of transportation, but a bicycle. This vehicle, free of fuel costs, is a good alternative to some
street vendors. Not only as a means of transportation, but as its point of sale.
At a quick walk around the outskirts of Norte Shopping, one of the largest malls in the city, located in
the north zone, you can find some examples of street vendors who use bicycles as an important device
for their business. We present here two of them: Jos Alves Pereira and Ananias. Jos is an itinerant
that migrated from Cear to Rio de Janeiro. Nowadays, he lives in the neighborhood of his working
place. Jos sells beverages and snacks at a fixed place near to the mall. His customers are people who
work around there as taxi drivers. The beverages he stores in two flasks. As for the snacks he uses a
Styrofoam box customized by himself: brown adhesive tape to protect the outside of the box, and
inside a plastic box for easy cleaning and storage. All this is mounted on a bicycle. In an improvised
way, Jos, ties a sunshade on the bicycle with elastic. That artifact originally designed to be used in the
sands of the beaches, over there, with Jos, also gains an umbrella function (Fig. 3). It not only protect
him in the sunny days, but when is raining. Ananias, Josephs competitor, also uses a sunshade for the
same purposes. However he adds that one function of the object is to call the attention of customers.

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Camila P. Silva, Guilherme C. Lima | From the improvisation to the solution: the design in the casual market of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Figure 3. Itinerant point of sale, North Zone, Rio de Janeiro (photo by Camila Peres).

As well as Francisco, the peanuts street vendor, Ananias has invested a little more in his business. Like
Jos he also sells snacks and beverages, but in greater variety and with a better presentation. Aware of
his creative solution, the vendor did not allow us to take pictures of his point of sale. Here we will try to
translate some of the resourcefulness of Ananias. Unlike Jos, who bought a ready-made bicycle,
Ananias created his own, which is a mix of bicycle and tricycle. Joining three parts of different origins,
the vehicle carries a cooler box and a plastic trash in front, in the middle of the vehicle a sunshade is
attached, and finally, at the back it carries the snacks and another cooler box. It is important though to
highlight the aspects of the back of this vehicle: occupying more than one third of total length, a
structure of glass and aluminum is placed as showcase for the snacks. Ananias vehicle has a device,
responsible for leaving the vehicle stand still, similar to the one we can see in the front of Joss bicycle
(fig. 3). In addition to this, there are two rear wheels that provide balance. The colors and the materials
used by Ananias leave an evidence of preoccupation with the visual. Except for the sunshade,
everything on his point of sale is red and white: the vehicle, the coolers, and even a fabric that
decorates the snacks showcase. Be the harmony of colors, the way to expose the goods, the careful
choice of materials, it seems fair to say that this is another example of making design.

4.

Final considerations
Through the examples shown here, this article sought to identify design practices in territories other
than those we are accustomed to. Such practices, which devoid of formal rigor, we proposed to call
informal design. If it worth or not, the proposal of looking at the material production on the streets of
Rio de Janeiro, at least it brings us the following reflection. The success of a seller, at the same time
creator and customer, probably lies in the fact that he knows exactly what he needs. What therefore
makes us think that good designs are those that can solve a given problem.
Finally, another consideration that we can draw from this study is that the design should not be
reduced to an in-house activity. It must include research in the field and the contact with the
prospective customers. Creative solutions found in the streets can serve as support for generating new
ideas. After all, it is in everyday experience, observing the environment around them that designers
will build their own visual repertoire and therefore increase their chances in succeed in the projects.
References
CARDOSO, R. 2012. Design para um mundo complexo. So Paulo: Cosac Naify.

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Camila P. Silva, Guilherme C. Lima | From the improvisation to the solution: the design in the casual market of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

CARDOSO, R. (org.) 2005. O design brasileiro antes do design: Aspectos da histria grfica, 1870 1960.
So Paulo: Cosac Naify.
ESCOREL, A. L. 2005. As Linguagens do Design. Design: objetivos e perspectivas, 1: 9-19.
LIMA, E. L. C. 1994. Sobre Design & Designers. Estudos em Design, 3: 21-46.
LIMA, G. S. C. 2005. Digresses sobre o Design. Design: objetivos e perspectivas, 1: 67-77.
LIMA, G. S. C. 2001. O design brasileiro e a sua identidade. Revista Comunicao e Arte, 1: 26-28.
MEGGS, P. B.; PURVIS, A. W. 2009. Histria do design grfico. So Paulo: Cosac Naify.
SUDJIC, D. 2010. A linguagem das coisas. Rio de Janeiro: Intrnseca.
Economia informal no Brasil movimenta R$ 578 bilhes, mais que PIB argentino. Disponvel em:
<http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/sala-de-imprensa/selecao-diaria-de-noticias/midiasnacionais/brasil/o-globo/2010/07/22/economia-informal-no-brasil-movimenta-r-578>
Acesso em: 15/04/2012

About the author(s)

Camila Peres Silva is masters student at Rio de Janeiro State University School of Industrial Design.
Majored in Design, she has a MBA in Marketing and has been working in the field of design since 2001.
Packaging design, history, material culture and fragrances are some of her main research interests.
<cassis@esdi.uerj.br>
Guilherme Cunha Lima is professor and researcher at Rio de Janeiro State University School of
Industrial Design. Majored in Visual Communication, he has a doctorate in Graphic Design from the
University of Reading (England). He conducts research on the history of Brazilian design, and is author
of The Graphic Amateur: Brazilian Origins of Modern Typography. <gecunhalima@globo.com>

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