The Ferreira Family Book: Azulejos, Garlic Pork, and a Century of Love
Have you ever opened a book and felt a whole household breathe?
At Plantain, we transform lived histories into beautiful, bespoke books. With the Ferreira family volume, a chorus of voices, memories, and carefully kept artefacts finally found a home between covers.
When we started this project, we were invited to step into a living museum: rigorously researched family histories, earlier interviews, photographs softened by time, vinyl records, Granny’s garlic pork recipe, and artwork by masters such as Louison and Hinkson. Our brief was simple but exacting: make it coherent, honest, and beautiful – a book future generations would actually want to hold.
Over months, we conducted interviews, shaped a narrative, and curated more than 65,000 words and 437 images into a 356-page volume.
The design draws on the geometry of Portuguese azulejos, reimagined as grids and rhythmic layouts, with layered blue accents inspired by the Caribbean Sea. Warm creams and soft greys temper the palette, while a restrained typographic system lets the family’s voices sit easily beside photographs and ephemera.
Regions covered: Portugal, Trinidad, the United States.
