Mote #1, “Começo”
Mote is a biannual Brazilian magazine of essays devoted to contemporary thought. Its name comes from the Portuguese word mote, meaning a word or phrase that acts as a prompt for an idea. Each issue takes a single mote as a point of departure, connecting essays from different fields with visual contributions. Conceived as a printed publication to be read at an unhurried pace, the magazine provides a space for intellectual and aesthetic experimentation.
The first issue, published by Cobogó in 2026, takes “Começo” (“Beginning”) as its theme. Its essays explore different meanings associated with the word – birth, emergence, origins, and invention – while also questioning the idea of a beginning through its opposites, such as endings, death, and decline. Contributors come from anthropology, philosophy, physics, sociology, history, and economics, alongside visual essays by artists Juliana Lapa and Raylton Parga.
Designed by Bloco Gráfico, Mote uses GT Canon by Grilli Type throughout, from large display typography to extended texts. A single type family thus structures very different kinds of content, with changes in scale and composition establishing the magazine’s hierarchies and giving individual essays their own rhythm. The masthead provides the main typographic contrast and is set in Kiosk from Nguyen Gobber, an expressive display typeface built from simple shapes. Its strong visual presence gives the magazine a distinctive identity, while contrasting with the more text-oriented role of GT Canon throughout the publication.
A flexible grid accommodates long-form essays, images, and visual contributions without imposing an identical treatment on every piece. The cover brings the issue’s mote to the foreground through a direct typographic composition. Printed on textured paper, it adds a tactile dimension to the magazine and emphasizes its character as a physical object. Together, these elements establish a visual framework that can remain recognizable from issue to issue while adapting to a new mote each time.
