If ever there was a country more in need of a re-branding, it is Argentina.



The eighth-largest country in the world and the second-largest country in South America, Argentina has been fighting a difficult war with its creditors and it seems like it is now rallying to fight back.



Fifteen years ago Argentina was South America's rising star; from 1991 -1997, the economy grew at an annual rate of more than 6%. But in 1998, after years of overspending, the country slid into a deep recession. The economic decline led to political turmoil and successive governments were unable to correct the slide. By late 2001 Argentina announced the largest debt default in all of history and in 2002 the government substantially devalued the peso.



In April of 2003, Argentina showed signs of recovery and in 2005 it finally broke even but still hasn't paid back all it owes. The country's relationship with creditors is strained.

In 2004 the government suspended an agreement with the IMF while it persuaded private creditors to accept a brutal debt-restructuring offer. The president's decision in late 2005 to repay its IMF debt early emphasized the country's economic uncertainty. Argentina now finds itself fighting inflation - so it is difficult to see where this journey will go.



The president’s courageous attempt to re-Brand his country is the only way I can see of announcing that Argentina is finally intent on significant change, and will overcome the stigma of its horrific debt default and attract businesses, tourists and capital to the country.

I believe this new look is optimistic, vivacious and will travel. I like it a lot and far prefer it to the flag. It evokes the Wachovia logo, which I have long enjoyed, and hearkens to a new and exciting future for the country. The ribbons are dying to be animated and as you can see, it works well in one color, in different circumstances and with various treatments.



The internal design brief is compelling and I think very evocative and intelligent in making these points:

• Understand identity as dynamic, not fixed; what we are becoming, not what we are.
• Think of the brand not as a mark but as a system, a visual language.
• Avoid the outsiders' expectations (no gauchos, no tangos); instead, affirm our own new point of view.
• Nothing banal, corporate or mercantile, or pinteresque and obscure.
• A brand that relates to people in everyday life, not to marketing experts.
• A brand consistent with a youthful nation.
  

The identity work was completed by Guillermo Brea & Associates, with Alejandro Luna and Carolina Mikalef.

Labels: Design

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posted by Sean Cohen @ 4:49 PM