Dynamic Identity For the City of Lisbon
School assignment made @ DMJX 2022 by Eigil Nikolajsen
The challenge was to create a dynamic identity for a city that could represent the city. I choose to work with Lisbon from my visit in 2016.
It is a real tourist destination - in fact the tourism in Lisbos is so successful that it creates a gap between the people working with tourism and the ones that don't. Therefore, it was a must for me to make something that celebrated the people of Lisbon and not the tourism when designing the new visual identity.
Azulejos
The azulejo tiles are iconic to Portugal and are especially visible in Lisbon. The new visual system relies heavily on the tiles and they become a symbol of both society and individuality. The colours are picked from the tiles and the unique yellow trams in Lisbon.
Lisboa Somos Nós
Means 'Lisbon is us' and pays homage to the people living in the city all year long - these are the real treasures of Lisbon.
The visual identity is a blank canvas for the people of Lisbon to fill with their own identity. The visual identity is made by the people and therefore, 'Lisboa somos nós' is a way of giving people the power to show the city as want.
Online Azulejo Generator
The tiles are made using a simple online designer with the possibilities of creating various shapes, changing color, position, rotation and scale of those shapes. The shapes are then mirrored in 4 axis to create 8 instances. With this nice symmetry it is almost impossible to create something that doesn't resemble a nice azulejo.
Infinite Possibility
Using this tool it is possible for the people of Lisbon to create virtually infinitely many different tiles.
An Entity of Individuals
The azulejos become a symbol of the people - the unity (citizens of Lisbon) vs. individuality (unique design of each tile).
After having created your own unique tile, it is possible to share it with your friends via a link or download the image and share it on social media using the hash #lisboasomosnos. This way everyone can be part of the larger entity that is the city of Lisbon.
City of the People, City by the People
The visual identity is all about giving the people the power to express themselves. The identity is nothing but a blank canvas without the people. Lisboa somos nós!
You can try the azulejo generator here
