One only needs to look at the images used 30 years ago by the provincial governments, town halls and capital cities of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country to appreciate the huge changes that have taken place since then. Some of them (the province of Bizkaia, its capital Bilbao and the province of Álava/Araba) have sidelined the traditional government coats-of-arms while others (the province of Gipuzkoa, its capital Donostia-San Sebastián and the capital of Álava/Araba, Vitoria-Gasteiz) have changed and simplified the logo, opting for more modern icons. These new logos are being based on Corporate Visual Identity (CVI) names and sign systems. For her PhD thesis, presented at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Ms María Begoña Medel investigated what it is that lies behind the changes these logos have undergone.
The PhD thesis is entitled Corporate Visual Identity used by public bodies in the Basque Country (1984-2008). Understanding the process of creation and analysis of the basic elements of CVI used by the city councils of Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Donostia-San Sebastián and the provincial governments of Bizkaia, Álava/Araba and Gipuzkoa. To undertake this, Ms Medel studied the trends of the icons and logos used by these mentioned institutions over the past 25 years, as well as carrying out interviews with those responsible for such changes.
Fascinated by the process of CVI in private enterprise companies, government bodies have wanted to emulate it, while conserving certain idiosyncrasies, according to Ms Medel's hypothesis. On studying CVI from 1984 to date, the researcher concluded that government bodies have changed their perspective. Previously, the iconography represented the defence of traditional values, while today the institutions try to put across an image that is friendlier and closer to the public. This is why traditional coats-of-arms are only used today at official events. For everything else, they prefer to use more simplified icons, free of historicist elements.
Modernised versions of coats-of-arms or a more radical change
Regarding examples, as Ms Medel states, the new CVI models of the City Halls of Vitoria-Gasteiz and Donostia-San Sebastián and of the provincial government of Gipuzkoa maintain their respective coats-of-arms, but the graphic art thereof is much more modern. They are, thus, local and provincial authorities which have used the private enterprise model of a logo, while maintaining their particular characteristics. Nevertheless, in the case of Bilbao City Council, and the provincial governments of Bizkaia and Álava/Araba, the change is much more profound, and their new iconography is very close to that of the private business sector. Ms Medel has singled out the Provincial Governments of Bizkaia for special mention: the oak leaf, used previously as a symbol for tourism, is now an icon for the whole provincial government institution. The researcher asks if, behind this decision, is the intention to offer members of the public a more friendly image, i.e. the desire by the authority that the Bizkaian public link the Provincial Government with positive topics such as tourism, and not with Inland Revenue, for example.
As pointed out by Ms Medel, the change of political colour in a government institution is also a reason for changing iconography; due to the new persons responsible for governing wanting to distance themselves from their predecessors. The researcher provides as an example of this the City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz. When the mayorship of this city, the administrative capital of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country passed from Mr José Ángel Cuerda of the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party) to Mr Alfonso Alonso of the Partido Popular in 1999, great importance was given to visual identity. The new regime argued in their handbook that the new logo had been created "in order to transmit a contemporary image" (of the local authority).
Marking off the difference respect to private enterprise
Ms Medel concluded that, although a government body has its own personality, it needs a vehicle for this to be publicly demonstrated and understood. Modern design is very useful in this task. The identification of personality by means of a coat-of-arms is more literal, but a communicational stamp is better.
About the author
Ms Maria Begoña Medel Bermejo (Bilbao, 1961) is a PhD in Fine Arts. She undertook this thesis under the direction of Ms Inmaculada Jiménez Huertas, lecturer at the Department of Drawing of the Fine Arts Faculty at the Leioa. Campus of the UPV/EHU. She is currently a lecturer at the same Department.