The literary route Desfeita is a tribute to the homonymous novel by Camilo Gonsar in his Galician hometown, Sarria. Written and published in the 80s, the book recalls the investigation of a murder perpetrated during the fascist uprising of 1936. In a series of 11 concrete tiles and 2 manhole covers, artist Rubén Grilo depicts short passages from the book. The reproduction of these passages, selected by writer and scholar Antom Fortes, becomes an exercise of collective memory in the public space.

To convey the meaning of the project, we created a custom typeface designed to be outlined on fresh concrete. The materials and production methods significantly influenced the type design process. The letterforms exhibit gestural writing, digitised as vector images that provides numeric instructions to the CNC machine for engraving unpredictable forms onto a malleable surface. The typeface mutates several times before reaching its final form. Embracing unpredictability was a crucial aspect of both the text reproduction process and the design of the digital typeface. The artist and the designer take control of the process, only to lose it as the material and tools influence the outcomes, distorting the forms to reveal their essence and truth. Without colour in the titles, only scars on the surface, it is the light and shadows that make them readable.

The digital version of the font aims to present a different expression, using the capabilities of uncontrolled digital tools instead of imitating the engraved forms. The letterforms transition from smooth clean lines to irregular rough shapes.