Plantas Studio is the design practice of João Doria de Souza (MFA Graphic Design, Yale School of Art, 2014; BA Visual Communications, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, 2007). We’re a sibling of Plantas Press and Good in Theory.

Based in Oslo, Norway but together with an international network of collaborators, we offer purpose-driven design & editorial services in the field of publications & exhibitions in the cultural sector.

We cultivate: a hand | eye for craft & production; a heart | brain for content & social impact; plus: a soul | spirit for concepts & ideas.

  • Spread view of "São Casas" publication by Luiza Baldan
    Luiza Baldan: São CasasPublication
  • Exhibition view of "Your breath, Your Voice"
    Your Breath, Your VoiceExhibition DesignDin pust, din stemme (Your Breath, Your Voice) is an exhibition curated by Social Anthropologist Dr. Michelle Tisdel, Ph.D. The exhibition presents visual and oral history documentation regarding the George Floyd protests in Oslo.
  • Self-publishing Design and Architecture
    Self-publishing Design and ArchitectureTeaching
  • The Ventriloquist Summerschool 2015
    The Ventriloquist Summerschool 2015WorkshopThe first edition of The Ventriloquist Summerschool, a graphic design summer school co-founded and organized by João Doria and Kristina Ketola Bore. The theme explored voice, self-representation and the reasons for practising graphic design today, with tutors Kristian Henson and Laura Pappa. The school attracted applicants from 17 countries and institutions including Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, Royal College of Art, ISIA Urbino, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Sandberg Institute, Yale University, Princeton, Cranbrook and Pratt Institute. A public programme at Grafill featured the ventriloquist Jan-Robert Henriksen, Tove Sivertsen of Tableau Paper, and researcher Ellef Prestsæter.
  • Object view of "The Fog" publication
    The FogPublication
  • Huset Vart — Kunstnernes Hus
    Huset VårtVisual Identity, Fundraiser
  • Iness
    InessTypeface
  • Flat scan view of "how to VOGUE"
    How To VOGUEPublication
  • Multiple covers of the "Concrete Oslo" publication
    Concrete OsloPublication
  • Multiple spreads of the "Vogue's Potential Guide to Life" publication
    Vogue's Potential Guide to LifePublication
  • Louise Bourgeois: Autobiographical Prints
    Louise Bourgeois: Autobiographical Prints
  • Worker hat with the saying "You're a worker too"
    You're a worker tooIllustration
  • Queremos! Hip Hop Apresenta: De La Soul
    Queremos! Hip Hop Apresenta: De La SoulPrintPoster for De La Soul’s concert, commissioned by Queremos!
  • Concours International d'Affiches
    Concours International d'AffichesExhibition26e édition du Festival Chaumont Design Graphique.
  • Four Books
    Four BooksRisograph, Series
  • The Ventriloquist Summerschool 2016
    The Ventriloquist Summerschool 2016WorkshopThe second edition of The Ventriloquist Summerschool, organized by João Doria de Souza and Kristina Ketola Bore. The theme explored the role of illusion as a way of being, working and generating knowledge — what’s involved in accepting, rejecting, validating and iterating such constructs, and how we use them to project and deal with what’s in front and ahead of us. Five parallel workshops ran during the week at 1857, a former lumberyard in the Grønland area of Oslo, along with a public programme of evening lectures. The 35 selected participants worked with tutors Talk Magazine (Eric Hu and Harry Gassel), Anu Vathra, Nicole Killian, Kristina Ketola Bore, João Doria de Souza and Andrea Pinochet. A print studio was ran by designer Sean Kuhnke.
  • Art as Punishment
    Art as PunishmentPublicationKunst som straff is the catalog exhibition for Agder Kunstakademi's closing show at Kunstnernes Hus. AK's project ran a rich and layered art school program inside Frøland Fengsel for 3 years, coordinated by Thora Dolven Balke and Kristine Jærn Pilgaard. Co-edited, published and designed by Plantas Press/Studio. Commissioned by Agder Kunstakademi / KORO.
  • Spread view of "Notes on the Lettering" article
    Notes on the LetteringPublication
  • Cover of an issue of the newspaper "10 Undersøkelser"
    10 InvestigationsPublication
  • Object view of "Photophobia" publication
    PhotophobiaPublication
  • Boklansering og samtale: Lotte Konow Lund
    Boklansering og samtale: Lotte Konow LundTalkDialogue with Lotte Konow Lund, Lena Lindgren and Synnøve Marie Vik about the publication "Det hun sa".
  • Words "TEMPO TEMPO TEMPO" on a glass window of a gallery at Kistefos Museum
    TEMPO TEMPO TEMPOExhibition Design
  • Publication view "Din pust, din stemme"
    Your Breath, Your VoicePublicationDin pust, din stemme (Your Breath, Your Voice) is the catalogue for the exhibition of same name, curated by Social Anthropologist Dr. Michelle Tisdel, Ph.D. The publication displays visual and oral history documentation regarding the George Floyd protests in Oslo. Co-published by Lift Every Voice, Plantas Press and Transcultural Arts Production.
  • Screen printing pop-up: 95 Years of Kunstnernes Hus
    Screen printing pop-up: 95 Years of Kunstnernes HusWorkshopA screen printing pop-up with Plantas Studio as part of the 95th anniversary celebration of Kunstnernes Hus. Visitors could bring a tote bag or T-shirt and brighten it up with a #HusetVårt print. The full-day celebration included a performance programme, the Autumn Exhibition (organized by NBK), family workshops, DJs, and a fundraiser for the renovation of Kunstnernes Hus.
  • Plantas Congo Flag Fundraiser
    Plantas Congo Flag FundraiserRisograph, Fundraiser
  • NITJA + PRAKIS: Reaching Out
    NITJA + PRAKIS: Reaching OutWorkshopWorkshop about the “Elements of Help and Care". The group devised a definition of help and care into a printed stack of utility posters for participatory action. Curated by Jessica Williams at NITJA and Kristian Schroder at PRAKSIS.
  • Cover and Spread views of "Transcultural Flux" Publication
    Transcultural FluxPublication
  • Ten Takes: Lecture Series
    Ten Takes: Lecture SeriesPoster, Series
  • Plantas Palestine Flag Fundraiser
    Plantas Palestine Flag FundraiserRisograph, Fundraiser
  • Poster series view of "Dealing with It"
    Dealing with It: Lecture SeriesPoster, Series
  • Composition with scans of "Klikk-her TV" publication for Kunsthall Stavanger
    Klikk-her TVPublication
  • Plantas Rainbow Flag Fundraiser
    Plantas Rainbow Flag FundraiserRisograph, Fundraiser
  • Cover of "Dreaming Awake" publication
    Dreaming AwakePublication
  • Cover and Spread views of "Mother Tongue" Publication
    Mother TonguePublication
  • Dealing With It
    Dealing With ItVisual Identity
  • Object view of the "Biennials/Triennials" publication
    Biennials/TriennialsPublication
  • TEMPO TEMPO TEMPO
    TEMPO TEMPO TEMPOPublication
  • Drone shot of installation made by Gustavo Prado, Carollina Lauriano and João Doria de Souza shown at the "Rock the Mountain" festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
    Rock the MountainInstallation
  • Catalog and Archive: two Szeemann designs
    Catalog and Archive: two Szeemann designsWriting, ResearchResponse to Craig Buckley's seminar "Publication, Politics, and Print: Episodes from the 20th century". Published on The Gradient: Walker Art Center Design Blog.
  • Events!
    Events!Poster
  • Debout les femmes!
    Debout les femmes!Poster
  • findforlag.no
    findforlag.noInteractive, Website
  • Lommeserien
    LommeserienPublication, Series
  • Reaching Out: A Book about Agency, Care, Identity, and…
    Reaching Out: A Book about Agency, Care, Identity, and…WritingA collaborative publication by the PRAKSIS Teen Advisory Board (Oslo), Index Teen Advisory Board (Stockholm), and PUBLICS Youth (Helsinki). Includes interviews, self-produced texts, and artistic contributions offering insight into young people's reflections on the role of print publications today and what their role may look like in the future. Edited by Gerrie van Noord, designed by Tuukka Kaila, published by Rooftop Press. Launched at the opening of Slow is a Verb — The Young Curators' Reading Room at Nitja Centre for Contemporary Art, Lillestrøm, February 2026.
  • Classic Album Sundays: Season 2
    Classic Album Sundays: Season 2Poster
  • Polymathism
    PolymathismTeaching
  • Object view of "Det hun sa"
    Lotte Konow Lund: What She SaidPublication
  • Object view of "Jakob Weidemann's Ringsveen", edited by Karin Hellandsjø, published by Orfeus Forlag
    Jakob Weidemann's RingsveenPublication
  • Kunstbok Oslo
    Kunstbok OsloFairPlantas Press exhibited at Kunstbok Oslo, an art book fair showcasing art books, zines, comics, monographs and fiction by artists and independent publishers.
  • Søstra 100: Omsorgsbua
    Søstra 100: OmsorgsbuaPublicationOmsorgsbua supplements Søstra100's installation at "Hånd og Maskin" — the first architecture exhibition at the new Norwegian National Museum. The publication is a 3-prong volume stapled across a long, folded cover. The first volume reflects on Søstra's feminist architecture practice, the second displays their handmade architecture drawings and the third one is a set of care exercise cards.
  • Plantas Transgender Flag Fundraiser
    Plantas Transgender Flag FundraiserRisograph, Fundraiser
  • Metalcut
    MetalcutTool, CodeGPU-accelerated video cut detection for Apple Silicon. Detects hard cuts, dissolves, and fades using a two-pass scoring pipeline with adaptive thresholding.

Clients (selected)

Automatica (BR); Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo (NO); Apichatpong Weerasethakul (TH); Classic Album Sundays (NO); Columbia Books in Architecture and the City (US); Espen Dietrichson (NO); Hayward Publishing (UK); Kistefos Museet (NO); Stavanger Kunsthall (NO); Michelle Tisdel / Lift Every Voice (NO); Marres — House for Contemporary Culture (NL); Orfeus Publishing (NO); Oslo Architecture Triennale (NO); Oslo City Museum (NO); Rhea Dall (DK); Torpedo Press (NO); Transcultural Arts Production (NO); Akerselva Kvinnekor (NO); FIND Forlag (NO)

Exhibitions, Talks, Awards, Residencies, Fairs (selected)

  • Multiple Formats Symposium — Boston University (US) · Talk
  • ; Odds and Ends Art Book Fair — Yale University Art Gallery (US) · Fair
  • ; The LA Art Book Fair — Printed Matter (US) · Fair
  • ; Bookmaker Symposium — Aperture Foundation (US) · Talk
  • ; Magical Riso — Jan Van Eyck Academie (NL) · Talk
  • ; The Alternative Art School Fair — Pioneer Works (US) · Fair
  • ; It's a Book — HGB-Leipzig (DE) · Exhibition
  • ; Best Verzorgde Boken — Stedelijk Museum (NL) · Exhibition
  • ; The Ventriloquist Summerschool 2016 — Grafill (NO) · Workshop
  • ; The Ventriloquist Summerschool 2015 — Grafill (NO) · Workshop
  • ; Kunstbok Oslo — Kunstbok Oslo (NO) · Fair
  • ; Best Books from All Over the World (Shortlist) — Stiftung Buchkunst (DE) · Award
  • ; Concours International d'Affiches — Chaumont (FR) · Award
  • ; Den Danske Bogdesignpris · Award
  • ; National Award for Architecture and Design — DOGA (NO) · Award
  • ; Tokyo Type Directors Club — Tokyo Type Directors Club (JP) · Award
  • ; Visuelt — Grafill (NO) · Award
  • ; Prosjektstipend — Grafill (NO) · Award

Teaching

Konstfack (SE); Beckmans Designhögskola (SE); Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo (NO); Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo (NO); Aalto University (FI); California Institute of the Arts (US); Otis College of Art and Design; Virginia Commonwealth University (US); University of Wisconsin-Stout (US); Carioca Center for Design (BR); Rogaland Kunstsenter (NO); Yale University School of Art (US)

Image credits

Gisle Bjørneby, Julie Hrnčířová, Kristine Jakobsen, Jan Khür, João Marcos Latgé, Justina Nekrašaitė, Sem Shayne, Cronje Strøm, Rune Thorstein, Leon Vilhena

Contact