Dear David,
Wolff Olins provided the communication design for the Lisbon underground back in the late 1990's, if I remember correctly. Never before I experienced being lost in a network of only 3 subway lines.
Regarding the issue of identity and stakeholder expectations, it shined as an example of what I call "design colonialism": this is what happens when you impose your meanings on the symbols of a culture you actually didn't bother to understand.
In this specific case, Wolff Olins picked arbitrary symbols more-or-less related to the city and its history and turned them into icons used to identify each of the subway lines.
This wouldn't be so bad, if the arbitrarity wasn't disguised as "cultural heritage" and if the icons added some kind of value. Instead, the icons add noise to the communication, generate confusion, are difficult to read and required translation to text in every verbal communication.
Each line also has a specific color. But the colors are as arbitrary as the icons, which means you have two sets of arbitrary and completely different codes that refer to the same thing.
In short, thanks to Wolff Olins I have missed several trains.
On the other hand, it was very helpful.
I used it many times to show my students how you should NOT do things.
Best regards,
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Carlos Pires
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Design & New Media MFA // Communication Design PhD Student @ FBA-UL
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On 03/05/2015, at 07:49, [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Hi All
>
> A different kind of comment from another point of view.
> http://communication.org.au/olympic-logo-for-london-a-challenge/ <http://communication.org.au/olympic-logo-for-london-a-challenge/>
>
> An unmet challenge
>
>
> David
> --
>
>
>
>
>
> blog:http://communication.org.au/category/blog-david-sless-soap-box/ <http://communication.org.au/category/blog-david-sless-soap-box/>
> web: http://communication.org.au <http://communication.org.au/>
>
> Professor David Sless BA MSc FRSA
> CEO • Communication Research Institute •
> • helping people communicate with people •
>
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> David
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