Duration: Established in 2013.

Location: Porto, Portugal.

Education: Both cofounders, Elias Marques and Sérgio Correia, have a specialist degree in graphic design from the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, in Tomar, Portugal, and a degree in communication design from ESAD College of Art and Design in Matosinhos, Portugal.

Career path: Both of us are designers, teachers, lecturers and researchers; every day, we share our space and time with hundreds of students, designers and collaborators. In 2011, we started to teach the same subject at ESAD and discovered that we shared the same passion for design. So, the only solution was to collaborate on a few ideas. In 2012, we started DJ Siete—Meet Mexican Siete, a collective Mexican music project, and ED’S—Bomb the System, a limited edition T-shirts brand. In 2013, we created T.I.N.A.—This Is Not America. In 2014, we established D-VINE—We Love Design, a design studio dedicated to food and beverage packaging.

Artistic influences: We are inspired by revolution graphics, riots, manifestations and anti-establishment posters, as well as music, photography and cinema. We feel passionate about Swiss style; the European avant-garde art movements of the early twentieth century, like futurism, Dadaism and constructivism; middle-century American abstract expressionism and pop art; the surf; punk and grunge subcultures.

Favorite projects: Receiving CA’s Award of Excellence for a poster we created for an event for the Portuguese Society of Biomechanics set this project as one of our favorites. The posters we created to promote the discussion forum of ESAD College of Art and Design’s 2016 World Graphics Day are also special to us, not only because it was our first project that was recognized internationally, with a Graphis Award, but also because the briefing enabled us to materialize our philosophy, teasing out the work of other graphic designers through the posters.

Work environment: Porto has come under the graphic design spotlight in the past fifteen years. Porto’s graphic landscape has improved exponentially, and the city has plenty of personality. The new generation of designers grew up with the financial crisis and started their own small studios, developing creative projects for small-and medium-sized companies using a high-quality and time-consuming approach, as opposed to the commercial work developed by multinational agencies.

Approach: T.I.N.A. questions and criticizes the established ideals, raising contemporary issues and teasing out society through ephemeral and permanent urban interventions called “This Is Not America.” Using graphic “weapons,” we create spaces that are occupied with messages and subliminal images, taking advantage of the elements related to the project’s identity.

Aspirations: We have some great ideas to share, and it’s our goal to share them worldwide with new and challenging clients.

Philosophy: Good graphic design helps communicate the goals, merits and advantages of a concept. We try really hard to do that for people we enjoy, with projects we believe in—and have fun while we’re at it. We seek out clients with good vibes and interesting challenges, clients who contribute to our creativity.

Fun fact: We are passionate about graphic design. We are energetic, enthusiastic and, yes, somewhat eclectic. Small and strong, we’re a unique studio. It doesn’t take an army of people to be effective. Our people have experience in a broad range of fields, and we understand the bigger picture.