Young from Belo horizonte wins "Oscar of Design" with project on Circuito Liberdade

Recently graduated from the Design School of the State University of Minas Gerais (UEMG), the designer Fabrício Luiz, 24 years old, was awarded one of the most prestigious international awards in the area, the "iF Design Student Award 2025". The "Libergraphic Alphabet" is the result of his work on completing a course in 2023 and was based on the architecture of the cultural equipment of the Liberdade Circuit, in Belo Horizonte, to create a stylized alphabet. With an artistic look, Fabrício abstracted elements of the buildings letters used in Portuguese, in a retro and sophisticated typography.

The young professional was one of the selected among thousands of applicants from different countries. Now, he has opened virtual "kitty" to sponsor his trip to Europe, to receive the award. With the title "A typographic expedition through the Liberdade Circuit in search of architected letters", the project explored eight buildings in the central region of the capital of Minas Gerais, looking for letters in unconventional places. The result is a printed material that, in addition to composing a poster with the 26 letters of the alphabet, also becomes a guide for the expedition, encouraging others to explore the city with a new look.

The "Libergraphic Alphabet" began to be developed from the wanderings of Fabrício Luiz during graduation, by UEMG surroundings, which is located in Praça da Liberdade, in the central region of Belo Horizonte. In this territory, several cultural spaces are integrated into the Circuito Liberdade, including the University itself. The final material was collected at Palácio da Liberdade, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB-BH), Academia Mineira de Letras, Arquivo Público Mineiro, Museu Mineiro, Centro de Arte Popular, Memorial Minas Gerais Vale and MM Gerdau - Museum of Mines and Metal.

iF Design Student Award - The "iF Design Student Award" is one of the most important awards in the world for design students and is an opportunity for students to gain international visibility, cash incentives and connections with professionals in the field. In 2025, the award was based on the UN’s "Sustainable Development Goals" to formulate entry criteria. Within this scope, 17 categories were created. Fabrício Luiz was one of the 100 selected in a universe of 10 thousand student proposals registered in the category "Cities and Sustainable Development". The award ceremony will take place on 19 and 20 June at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Workshops and museum tours precede the award ceremony.

Circuito Liberdade - The largest cultural, tourist, educational and creative complex in Latin America, the Circuito Liberdade is a network of 35 cultural facilities located on the territory of Avenida do Contorno. In 2025, the complex celebrates 15 years, bringing together diverse programming, composing the artistic identity of the capital of Minas Gerais and sensitizing those who live or pass through Belo Horizonte.

"Making my daily trips through the region of Circuito Liberdade a motor for my career, with a work so identified with Belo Horizonte, is very rewarding. After all, the Circuit made up my day-to-day life, being a student of the UEMG School of Design. I walked and watched, attentive, looking for the elements for the project. I signed up at the last minute and, when I least expected it, I was awarded and invited to the ceremony in Spain. My wish is that everyone feel the same appreciation I have for Beagá and that, if possible, contribute with the vaquinha, to take a little of our city there. I was nominated for other awards and also won gold in another, last year, but winning the iF award is winning the Oscar of Design", celebrates the designer.