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Eu Detetive, is a redesign of a classic book, with a new visual language that brings the book closer to new generations without losing its essence.
Project type
Editorial
Layout
Illustration
Academic project developed at FUMEC University.
Programs
In Design
Illustrator
Procreate
Photoshop
Local
Belo Horizonte
I, Detective: The Enigma of the Stolen Painting is an academic publishing project developed as a Final Course Project, titled " Disconnect to Investigate ". The central objective was to create a new edition of the supplementary reading book by Stella Carr and Laís Carr Ribeiro, published by Editora Moderna and part of the PNLD (National Textbook Program). The idea is to make it more interactive, visual, and stimulating for the adolescent audience, without sacrificing its educational character.
The project starts from a contextually relevant premise: in 2025, with Law No. 15.100/2025 prohibiting the use of cell phones in schools, the physical reading market gained new momentum. More than 20 years after its launch, the book remains present in schools, and this project proposes that it also become desirable for those who read it.
The project's starting point was a critical analysis of the existing edition, precisely mapping its shortcomings. The original cover failed to establish a visual connection with the book's content; the typography was unsuitable for the target audience and compromised readability; the chapter hierarchy was confusing; and the internal layout did not create any rhythm or unique visual identity.
Furthermore, the book failed to capitalize on its main distinguishing feature: being a gamebook with narrative choices, to create an editorial experience worthy of that proposition. The design challenge then became: how to transform an existing book into an interactive project that made sense both as a book and as a game, for a generation accustomed to intense visual stimuli?
Some of the drafts and research that were done for this project.
The central concept of the project is called Enigmatic Interactions , which represents the mystery of the narrative and the participatory experience of the new edition, defining both the reading and gaming experiences. From this, it became clear that a new edition of the book would require more than a graphic update: it would be necessary to rethink the project as a complete system, where each component enhances the reader's immersion in the narrative.
The book's interior is designed to immerse the reader in the story from the very first page. Presented as the detective's own notebook, the opening invites the reader to write their name in it, immediately establishing a sense of belonging. The index transforms into an investigation board; whenever the setting changes, the page design also changes, reinforcing the transition between the narrative's environments. The illustrations provide atmosphere, context, and deepen the experience of each scene. To enhance interactivity, a mini-game in the form of a decoder was developed: the reader uses the device to decipher encrypted messages distributed throughout the book, which serve as additional clues to the narrative. This playful layer reinforces the reader's active role as an investigator.
The game board has been completely redesigned, with individual illustrations of each museum room that visually deepen the story's universe. The game system has been expanded with dice, pawns, and two sets of cards: 4 cards of the main characters, which fit onto the pawns during the game, and 21 cards of secondary characters, which facilitate both the identification of suspects during reading and the dynamics of the game. In addition, tabs in the book have been created to facilitate game navigation and allow players to move back and forth between chapters without having to search.
The color palette was structured narratively: each of the four main characters was assigned their own color: yellow, red, blue, and green, creating a visual identification system that runs throughout the book, the game board, and the cards. This allows the reader to recognize, at any time, which rooms and scenes belong to which character, making navigation between the multiple narrative routes intuitive and coherent. The book's colored tabs follow this same logic, organizing the sections visually and immediately.
Finally, a kraft paper box with a drawstring was developed to hold all the project components together. Besides solving a practical problem—in the current edition, where the game board comes loose inside the book and could get lost during delivery—the box serves as the reader's first contact with the project's universe: a confidential file envelope that, even before being opened, conveys the investigative tone of everything inside.
The project demonstrated that editorial design can be a decisive instrument in requalifying an existing object, not only aesthetically, but also in terms of experience, function, and relevance. By transforming *I, Detective: The Enigma of the Stolen Painting* into a complete editorial system, the project addressed the proposed design problem without sacrificing the supplementary educational character of the work: the book remains an educational material, but now competes, in terms of experience, with the digital stimuli that vie for the attention of the adolescent audience.
Every decision, from the typography to the box, from the colored tabs to the decoder, was guided by the same logic: to place the reader inside the investigation, and not just in front of it. The result is a project that unites reading, play, and design in a single cohesive experience, where form and content reinforce each other in every detail.
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