Culture visibility and graphic design on Diário do Sul newspaper (1986-1988).

Abstract

This article is part of the research “Journalism and representation of artistic and cultural system in 80’s: a study of Diário do Sul newspaper (Porto Alegre, 1986-1988)”, and it examines the dynamics between the editorial and graphic projects of Diário do Sul, a newspaper of the group Gazeta Mercantil. The article intents to show, by analyzing a historical object, how the newspaper’s graphic design was able to express and support a concept of editing. This was a unique experience when the editorial tabloid format became hegemonic in Rio Grande do Sul State and this quality-paper style valued the authorial photography and illustration, investing on autonomous supplements to get around the austerity of its graphic design. We noticed the growth of culture visibility in the trajectory of the newspaper, which was a coherent expansion according to the value of that segment in the identity of the newspaper and that caused changes in the cultural coverage of events, following common strategies of the main Brazilian newspapers in the 1980s.

Key words: graphic project, Diário do Sul, cultural journalism.