36 Days of Type

Talavera Type

36 Days of Type 2024

36 Days of Type is a world-famous project that gives artists, designers, illustrators and all types of visual creators an opportunity to express themselves through the exploration of the Latin alphabet. It is a yearly call, in which participants must design a letter or number for 36 consecutive days. This project is then showcased on social media, mostly on Instagram.

Unfortunately, due to the platform’s recent updates, 36 Days of Type has been put on hold. However, many of us creators are so deeply in love with the project that we decided to keep it going in spite of the adversities.

This is biriloke's take on 36 Days of Type 2024.

Talavera (also called mayólica) is a special type of ceramic, patterned tile originated in the 16th Century, when the first Spanish pottery masters settled down in Puebla. It took this name to indicate the similarities with the glazed earthenware made in Talavera de la Reina, in Spain.

Since then, the use of talavera has spread all around the country, its colors and patterns becoming representative of the Mexican culture. You can find it in walls, floors, fountains, ceilings, vases and pretty much anywhere you can think of.

Image rights reserved by Shutterstock, Wikimedia Commons, Luis Malagón, Gobierno de México, Amazon and Viaja Bonito

One of the clearest examples is the 'Casa de los Azulejos', a historic building in Mexico City. Every inch of this architectural masterpiece is covered in talavera and, because of it, has become an emblematic cultural spot in the heart of Mexico.

Image rights reserved by México Desconocido, inmexico.com, La Silla Rota and Oasis Hotels & Resorts.

For this year's 36 Days of Type, we took a deep dive into this beautiful tradition, our purpose being to revisit the roots of Mexican artesanías and architecture, in order to bring its strokes, colors and shapes into the digital era.