A New Mexican Passport
Year: 2017 / Client: Rediseño México / Tools: Illustrator, InDesign Photoshop
Based on the Dezeen Brexit passport competition and within the scope of Rediseño México, I created a new Mexican passport inspired by the Aztec culture, with a minimalist approach.
For the covers, I use the official colours currently in use: green for the citizen passport, government officials are given a grey document and diplomats use the one in black.
The main feature is the icon representing Tonatiuh, the Sun god, shining over the world, printed in golden ink. Since a passport is a gateway to cultural and personal exchange, I include a poem in its original Náhuatl and Spanish by Nezahualcóyotl, an Aztec nobleman, that celebrates the inherent beauty of nature and mankind, one that is also printed on the 100 peso note.
The word passport is printed in Spanish, Náhuatl, and Yucatec Mayan, the three most important languages spoken in Mexico.
“I love the song of the zenzontle,bird of four hundred voices.
I love the colour of jadeand the enervant perfume of flowersBut I love more my brother, man.”Nezahualcóyotl, 1402-1472
The country’s name is printed on Espinoza Nova, a serif font by Mexican typographer Cristóbal Henestrosa. The rest of the text is in Avenir LT; its readability and clean lines are a perfect match for the small type used in a passport.
Each state is represented by its flag, part of the Rediseño México project I developed in 2016. All 32 states have their own page, which makes the passport 36 pages long (if we include the pages dedicated to the holder’s information) and all of them have a pattern typical of Mesoamerican architecture on the background, representing the flow of time. Except for personal information, all text is printed in golden and/or green ink.
