Porto is a city of the future, says The Times Raconteur Edition

There are some questions that need asking to a graphic designer, and when it comes to city branding Porto sure knows its business.
Raconteur's special reports in The Times and The Sunday Times published an in-depth interview to Eduardo Aires, the graphic designer of the Porto City brand "Porto.". 

From early on, Rui Moreira and his team understood the importance of urban messaging and visual identity; as such they have created the "Porto." brand.

The success of the brand is "plastered on everything from municipal buildings and building sites to dustcarts and police motorbikes", reads the article.

This was an innovative move and the man that helped develop the concept is Eduardo Aires, who had to complete the following challenge: "come up with something that encapsulates the character of the city and its people, while also signalling the municipality's portfolio of services"; and so he did.

Aires came up with a set of simple yet original icons that translate the sense of the city's identity. "Pulling the whole branding exercise together is the name of the city, reinforced by a dot." As simple and as ground-breaking.

Eduardo Aires has seen his commitments increase as he is asked to lecture around the world, and affirms that the "key" word to embracing such a task is to know your "territory".

Besides, it sure makes things easier for a graphic designer to love his/her city and involve as many people as one can. Also, the logo is identified by residents as "innovative" and "futuristic".

For Eduardo Aires it is really important to stay closely connected in the brand design evolution and implementation and he concludes by saying that he takes pride in knowing that some people have Porto. logo's tattoos.

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