Be Water My Friend

Published by Slanted Publishers

Be Water My Friend — B.W.M.F.

Inspired by an interview with Bruce Lee, where he refers to an aspect of Taoist philosophy, that water can teach us “the way,” the graphic designer, creative activist, lecturer, author, and founder of the eponymous studio for branding communication Rafael Bernardo started to wonder whether he “was water” in his creative workflow. Now, five years later, he wrote and designed a book with 224 pages, which is divided 50/50 into the parts Roots and Wings.

Wings presents the graphic journey. Eleven of Bernardo’s favorite personal projects and collaborative works he did for example with Viva con Agua, the Forward Festival, or the porcelain factory Rosenthal. And then, there is a selection of eighty Be Water My Friend posters, created to practice and explore his visual voice. Clear compositions in black and white within a spectrum of typography, illustration, and infographics.

Part two, Roots, outlines the theoretic foundation of Rafael Bernardo’s experience. The introduction of the Be Water My Friend methodology. An analytic system that he developed after he found out, that water behaves like creativity works.

It describes the progress of development as a clockwork, divided into three levels. Context in the outside, motivation in the center, and process as the connecting part in-between. It is a tool to connect the way we think with the way we feel by examining how we shape and navigate our processes, projects, and routines.