Portugal’s Logo Designs Have People Up In Arms
By Mikelle Leow, 12 Apr 2024
Photo 140154005 © Mireia Rodriguez | Dreamstime.com
Healthcare and tax policies are just a few issues weighing on the minds of the public and the new Portuguese government who took office only earlier this month.
The first visible change rolled out by the freshly inaugurated Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, was the replacement of a fairly new logo (seen below) that was introduced just last May by the previous socialist government.
Image via Republic of Portugal
Designed by Eduardo Aires, the minimalist emblem ditched the traditional coat of arms with its castles and armillary sphere (a historical nautical instrument) for a simple rectangle of green, a yellow circle, and a red block, inspired by the colors of the Portuguese flag. Practical, inclusive, modern, and digital-friendly—that was the former government’s vision.
Video via Republic of Portugal
But as elections loomed, right-wing critics branded the €74,000 overhaul as “woke,” “childlike,” “patriotic,” and a slap in the face to Portugal’s rich history. António Nogueira Leite, a former heavyweight in the center-right Social Democratic Party, likened it to the Italian flag with a “fried egg in the middle of it.”
Image via Republic of Portugal
Aires, who says he has received death threats for his design, recounts (via the Guardian) how people have griped that a five-year-old could have made the pared-back design on Microsoft Paint. He dismisses these remarks as coming from folks “totally ignorant of design.”
“All design is about synthesis ultimately,” Aires asserts.
When Montenegro took over as Prime Minister, he ordered the removal of the barebones look and reverted it to its predecessor, entailing the national coat of arm. Cabinet Minister Antonio Leitao Amaro justified that this historical symbol was integral to “our identity, our history, and culture.”
Posted by República Portuguesa on Tuesday, April 2, 2024
O mundo evolui, Portugal não pic.twitter.com/ACHXFcinuQ
— alex ð©ð¡ð¥ (@galisep) April 2, 2024
It seems the debate goes deeper than just looks. Apart from highlighting deep divisions over national identity, it is also perceived as a shakeup of power.
Portuguese architect and designer Sérgio Magalhães concludes that the core of the incessant arguments over a simple logo is “definitely not a question of design,” but about the shifting geopolitical landscape and perceptions of control, he tells the Guardian.
[via The Guardian, Fast Company, Portugal Resident, The Portugal News, images via various sources]