José de Mello
An image made of many.
GRAPHIC DESIGN | INTEGRATED REPORT
The Challenge
The José de Mello Group operates across sectors as diverse as healthcare, the chemical industry, mobility and wine. This diversity is one of its greatest strengths, but also one of its key communication challenges. How can such different business realities be brought together in a single report? How can the creation of economic, social and environmental value be communicated coherently across companies with very different activities, contexts and audiences? And how can this be achieved without losing sight of the legacy of an organisation with more than 125 years of history?
This diversity of businesses is complemented by an even more distinctive dimension: the thousands of people who, across different companies, geographies and functions, contribute every day to bringing the Group’s purpose and values to life.
The 2025 Integrated Report addresses these questions through a narrative that demonstrates how a common process of value creation connects the companies, activities and people that make up the José de Mello Group.
The Object
The printed edition is presented in a specially developed slipcase, giving the set a distinctive character and a strong tactile dimension.
The embossed and spot-varnish finishes, together with the fabric-textured binding paper, reinforce the perception of the report as a valuable object.
Rather than revealing the complete cover composition, the slipcase suggests it. The full image is revealed only after the report is removed from the slipcase.
The act of opening becomes the reader’s first contact with the editorial narrative.
The Concept
Inspired by the tradition of Portuguese tiles, the cover features a composition made up of multiple autonomous pieces that, when viewed together, reveal a shared identity.
This image reflects how the José de Mello Group understands its own reality: different companies, sectors, skills and people contributing to a common business project.
More than representing the Group’s diversity, the visual composition expresses a belief that runs throughout the report: creating sustainable value depends on the ability to bring together different perspectives, skills, businesses and realities around a shared purpose.
The Identity
The report’s visual language was designed to reinforce the idea of integration. The tiles that mark the cover extend throughout the publication, creating continuity between the different sections and establishing a lasting connection between form and content.
The use of photography, graphic patterns, geometric elements and visual resources inspired by the cover’s composition creates a coherent reading experience that reflects both diversity and unity.
The objective was to use design as a tool for communication and interpretation. Design as content.
The Visuals
Across the report’s more than 300 pages, the use of infographics, clear visual hierarchies, highlighted indicators and consistent editorial resources was designed to transform technical information into accessible knowledge.
The visual organisation was designed to meet the needs of different audiences, balancing depth of information with clarity and ease of reading.
The Narrative
The development of the text focused on the connections between purpose, strategy, performance, sustainability and value creation. Rather than presenting these dimensions as separate chapters, the report highlights how they influence one another and contribute to an integrated view of the Group.
The result is a narrative that shows not only what the Group does, but also how it creates long-term value for its different stakeholders.
The report goes beyond business results and financial indicators. It explains the relationships between the different factors that shape value creation.
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This project was developed in partnership with the communication agency Keymessage.
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This report won the APCE 2026 Grand Prize in the Sustainability & ESG: Governance and Reporting category.
APCE is the Portuguese Association of Corporate Communication.
In parallel, a summary brochure of the report was developed, focusing on the key indicators for 2025.
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