A Designer at the End of the Dream Career

Published April 28, 2026

A Designer at the End of the Dream Career is a self-published book reflecting on the non-linear paths designers face as they begin their professional journeys. Developed in the final semester of the Communication Design degree at the Faculty of Fine Arts Lisbon, it explores the symbolic and practical weight of reaching the end of academic life.

The project began with a prompt: “A Designer at the End of…”. Each group completed the phrase in their own way, contributing an eight-page chapter that expressed personal and collective reflections. The task was then to bring them together under a shared theme, The Dream Career: the thrill of starting out, the disillusionment that can follow, and the hope that keeps us moving forward.

A unifying visual identity was created to connect all contributions, drawing from diagrams, maps, and charts as a nod to the soul-searching that shapes every designer's path.

Physically, the publication itself is divided into three interwoven chapters, inviting readers to choose their own entry point—mirroring the unpredictable nature of creative careers. Printed with the faculty’s Risograph machine and fully produced by hand—folded, stapled, and trimmed in the design lab—it was released in a limited run of 100 copies, each with a distinct, tactile quality.

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