Recently I wrote an article about a city that went advertising-free on Brazign, a blog on the topic of Brazilian design, art and culture. Considering I used to live there, I felt the urge of posting on the topic here too. Actually, writing this article fills me with a mixed feeling of nostalgia and relief.
Back in 2006 I was living in São Paulo and I remember well when Gilberto Kassab, city mayor at the time, passed a bill banning all sorts of adverts, signs and even company logos from the city buildings. The ban represented a treat for the local advertising industry, which guess what? Included me.
After so many years, I find particularly interesting to see this pictures, where a new layer of dust settled just over where logotypes were previously positioned leaving behind an in-print of their existence. Check them out!
I’m happy with the fact the city looks less visually polluted and consequently more organised, but can’t prevent from felling a sense of relief for living in London, a city where advertising, visual signage and more important logos are welcomed by the city and its society.
A Glimpsy of the Chaos
From the economic point of view this was a terrible bill, actually I believe still is, and many believe things will get back to ‘normal’ in near future. But I must admit the city was buried under visual chaos, outrageously amounts of adverts and signs, no matter where you look, it was as fugly as you can imagine. Actually, don’t imagine, here’s a good example of the chaos:
