ReCreate × Teatro Nacional São João — Material, Object, Identity

ReCreate developed a limited series of objects for Teatro Nacional São João, transforming reclaimed micro-perforated banner into functional design pieces.

The project brought together four ReCreate models: 20 Jack Totebags, 10 Júlia Bags, 10 Teco Pouches and 100 Telma Notebooks. All were created from the same material family, carrying the visual memory of Teatro Nacional São João through surface, texture, colour and graphic fragments.

This collaboration reflects three central ideas in ReCreate’s work: material, object and identity.

Material

The material used in this series came from Teatro Nacional São João and had already served its first purpose as cultural communication.

Micro-perforated banner is a technical material with a very specific character. It is resistant, light, flexible and visually textured. Its open structure allows the printed image to appear in fragments, creating surfaces that are graphic, irregular and never entirely predictable.

For ReCreate, this kind of material is not neutral. It already contains information: typography, colour fields, contrast, marks of use and traces of a previous context.

The design process begins by reading those qualities.

Each cut is made with attention to the material’s behaviour and to the final object. The aim is not to erase where the material came from, but to give it another form, another use and another presence.

Object

The series was designed as a family of objects.

The Jack Totebags bring scale, strength and everyday utility. The Júlia Bags introduce a more structured format, with presence and practical detail. The Teco Pouches work as smaller pieces for organisation and daily use. The Telma Notebooks extend the project into a quieter gesture: writing, drawing, planning and keeping ideas close.

Together, these pieces show how the same material can generate different objects without losing coherence.

Some surfaces reveal larger graphic areas. Others show smaller fragments, textures or typographic details. Some pieces are more discreet; others carry a stronger visual presence. This variation is part of the project’s identity.

Every object belongs to the same series, but no two pieces are exactly the same.

Identity

A theatre banner is usually created for a specific moment: a season, a programme, a performance or an event. Its public role may be temporary, but the material itself can continue.

Through design, that material moves from communication support to everyday object.

It can become a bag, a pouch or a notebook. It can be carried, opened, used, kept and moved through different places. What was once linked to a cultural institution now enters daily life with a new purpose.

For ReCreate, this is where material transformation becomes meaningful.

The object keeps a trace of its origin, but it is not trapped in the past. It becomes useful again. It gains structure, function and identity.

The 20 Jack Totebags, 10 Júlia Bags, 10 Teco Pouches and 100 Telma Notebooks form a limited series with a shared origin and individual presence.

A temporary surface becomes a lasting object.
A cultural material becomes part of daily use.
Design transforms matter into meaning.