Lizá Ramalho and Artur Rebelo have degrees in Communication Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Oporto and a Master’s degree in Design Research from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Barcelona. Lizá was granted a scholarship from the Foundation for Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra where she is currently pursuing a PhD, while Artur is pursuing a PhD at the Arts College of the University of Coimbra. They are guest lecturers at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra and run workshops and participate in juries, events and conferences at several universities and institutes.
Lizá and Artur founded the association Dados Favoritos with the aim of promoting and disseminating graphic design and in 2010 organized the AGI Open Conference in Porto, in which they also curated the exhibition Mapping the Process. They are both members of the Alliance Graphique Internationale since 2007.
R2 is a design studio based in Porto, Portugal founded in 1995 by Lizá Ramalho and Artur Rebelo. R2’s work spans the areas of editorial design, visual identity, signage systems, posters, new media, video, exhibition design, and interventions in public spaces and buildings.
The essence of R2’s work lies in a dynamic creative process in which both designers equally engage from the initial stages through to the execution of a project. This complementary dialogue draws on thoughtful research and experimentation surrounding a given content for an ultimately concept-driven approach that lends form to a final product in which typography plays a fundamental role.
R2 explores static, sequential and interactive formats through media as diverse as paper, concrete or digital and embraces collaborative ventures with other disciplines such as architecture, engineering, photography, writing or programming.