28. January 2009
Retooling Identity Production in the 21st Century
Despite design agencies claim to be visual experts on identity and representational questions, contemporary realities such as cultural diversity and hybrid identities in multicultural social contexts seem to be neglected issues within the profession of identity construction and the production of representation (visual identity design, corporate design and branding).
By Evert Ypma
In parallel to this, the increase of global information and mobility has begun to affect the very foundations of society: it lacks one collective memory and the bedrock of shared moral values and language has gradually changed. One significant factor of multicultural society is that the traditional common references of meaning and understanding are no longer shared. Cities turned into Cosmopolis in which the people have the uncommon in common. Since the nineties, however, the integration of foreigners into European societies has become a central issue on the political agenda. ... Read further
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Published in Volume 19 Architecture of Hope
Photo top: Rotterdam Opzoomeren (Rotterdam cleaning day). Photo: Evert Ypma, 2008
Detail nation branding world map. By Evert Ypma
Phonehouse Geneva. Project by students made during the Mix&Match workshop by Evert Ypma at the University of the Arts Geneva (HEAD), 2007