Willian Santiago (1991 – 4 May 2021) was a Brazilian illustrator, graphic designer, and professor, known internationally for his works full of vibrant colors and digital reproduction of brushstrokes and natural textures, having illustrated several books, in Brazil and abroad, in addition to magazines and advertising campaigns of famous brands. In 2017, Santiago won the

Prêmio Jabuti The Prêmio Jabuti (the "Tortoise Prize") is the most traditional literary award in Brazil, given by the Brazilian Book Chamber (CBL). It was conceived by Edgard Cavalheiro in 1959 when he presided over the CBL, with the interest of rewarding autho ...

, in the digital children's category, for the illustrations of the first children's book by author Luis Fernando Veríssimo, called O Sétimo Gato, which was part of the Kidsbook Itaú Criança Collection.

Biography

Born in

Cornélio Procópio Cornélio Procópio is a municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil. The city is served by Francisco Lacerda Junior Airport. History It was thus named in honor of Colonel Cornélio Procópio de Araújo Carvalho, a p ...

, Paraná, Santiago graduated from the

State University of Londrina Londrina State University ( pt, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, UEL) is one of the public universities of the State of Paraná, Brazil. External links Official Page of Londrina State University(in Portuguese) Educational institutions ...

(UEL), and started working initially with branding focused on fashion. He had always loved drawing, but only with the advent of the internet was he able to establish himself as an illustrator. In 2014, when he opened his own illustration studio, he started collaborating with big names like Itaú,

Natura Natura & Co is a Brazilian global personal care cosmetics group headquartered in São Paulo. The Natura & Co Group currently includes Natura Cosméticos, Aesop, The Body Shop and Avon Products. The Group is present in 73 countries across all cont ...

, Sesc,

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

, Farm,

L'Occitane L'Occitane en Provence, "the Occitan woman (in Provence)," commonly known as L'Occitane, is a French luxury retailer of body, face, hair, fragrances, and home products based in Manosque, France. Founded in 1976 by Olivier Baussan, with the purp ...

Havaianas Havaianas (stylized as havaianas) is a Brazilian brand of flip-flop sandals created and patented in 1962. It is currently owned by Brazilian manufacturing company Alpargatas S.A. Inspired by Japanese zori sandals, Robert Fraser became the first t ...

, among others. Combining high-contrast colors and striking features, Santiago also had works published abroad, such as in England, where he partnered with publishers, such as the cover of the book Mockingbird, written by Kathryn Erskine in 2010, and in Germany, where he made the cover of the magazine Friday Magazin, in addition to France, South Africa, Italy, the United States, South Korea, among others. Among Santiago's main works are the cover of the novel A Visão das Plantas, by Angolan writer Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, in addition to the book for which he won the Prêmio Jabuti Award in 2017, in the digital children's category, with his illustrations in the first book children's book by author Luis Fernando Veríssimo, called O Sétimo Gato, which was part of the Kidsbook Itaú Criança Collection. Success, however, never prevented him from continuing to be humble and generous when sharing his knowledge and valuable tips with other young illustrators, or referring without prejudice to his greatest influences. One of these references was

Heitor dos Prazeres Heitor dos Prazeres (23 September 1898 — Rio de Janeiro, 4 October 1966) was a Brazilian composer, singer and painter. He was a pioneer samba composer and participated in the first samba schools in Brazil. Later in life he became known by his pai ...

, born in 1898, very close to samba and who, as an illustrator, painted the bohemia of the city of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and life in his community, in a naïf style, full of colors, something that Santiago also embraced his works and his life.

Death

Santiago died of complications from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on 4 May 2021, at the age of 30, after spending about a month in an ICU of a private hospital in the city of Londrina, Paraná.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago, Willian 1991 births 2021 deaths People from Cornélio Procópio Brazilian illustrators Brazilian graphic designers Brazilian academics Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Paraná (state) 21st-century Brazilian artists 21st-century Brazilian educators