A design process domed by the insignificance of meaning.

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Before being a symbol, logo, or logotype, a brand has to have a global vision to one day become an identity with meaning.

1. Lack of Vision ??

As a consumer and user, before becoming a designer, I was troubled that these projects happen when they are more about satisfying the egos of politicians who want to leave their mark on history and designers who comply with this situation. I regret that this could happen instead of iterating over a Portugal brand we all want to represent proudly.

For example, this video about the United Kingdom's predominantly Black and White identity was chosen for obvious reasons related to its applicability, usability, optimization of resources, and sustainability.

See how, in contrast to the two identities of Portugal, when we remove the color, we lose the sense of symbolism in one due to excess and in another due to lack. In the hierarchy of both Identities, there are several severe problems with reading, application, and identification.

The controversy that has emerged over the new image of the República Portuguesa - XXIV Governo has led me to write this article. I will not participate in any of the symbols or ideas; I am merely sharing my opinion and critical view on the strategy, methods, and processes of developing an identity. In this specific case, the one under discussion, we all contribute politically, economically, and socially.

Therefore, I pose the following questions regarding any proposal:

1. Shouldn't the idea of vision, purpose, and meaning intended to be conveyed through the symbol and logo of the nation also be validated?
2. Why are the methodology, the process, and the insights from the investigations not publicly presented, which validate the decision?
3. How are users who experience and use Brand Portugal and its different representations involved?
4. When dealing with a nation's culture and identity, shouldn't it be validated with all Stakeholders and made public before making a decision?

I'm not just talking for the sake of talking but because I have witnessed decisions that I think were similar in Portuguese companies with international impact, where, in my view, deliberations and management of other areas of inDesignn ended up cannibalizing and emptying the vision purpose, and meaning of identity.

2. Critical Evaluation ??

One of the questions I pose for this controversy lies in the reasons that lead decision-makers and marketing and brand managers to tend to solve the WHAT and the HOW, often forgetting the WHY. Is it due to a lack of commitment? Is it because of the rush? Or is it just pure ignorance?

The WHY is the magnet that unites and congregates. Appearance, or how we use or apply identities, does not play this role.

But doing it the right way takes time and money. Sometimes, those who do it need to learn how to do it correctly, or if they know, they prefer to keep quiet because other interests interfere with the definition and development of projects.

As? Phil Gilbert wisely says, " Businesses do not care about Design Thinking; they just care about market outcomes." This statement refers to the results, effects, or consequences that occur in the market in response to specific actions, policies, events, or economic conditions. The short term prevails in this kind of project, to the detriment of creating something sustainable and timeless that endures and is also effective in the medium and long term.

Functional issues are not the best reason to kickstart resolving something as crucial as adapting one of the nation's symbols to the digital challenge. It may be a good excuse, but the political issue at the base of this decision means that the problem still needs to be resolved holistically, giving rise to others challenging and establishing what has already been established.

Sustainability, qualitative, and quantitative arguments that support the reasons for changing and those for rejecting at various times were lacking at the base of these processes.

3. Transformation by Design ??

As Simon Sinek says in The Golden Circle, we must start from the inside out, not the other way around. To get somewhere, we must first have a vision, that star that guides our way.

In this case, regardless of whether we are living under a left-wing, right-wing, or center government, the interests of those governing may change, as may our purpose over time, but the vision of the identity, as well as its meaning, should always resist time and will, developing iteratively.

We must account for who we are, who we were, and, most importantly, who we want to be.

A country like Portugal, which depends mainly on human capital and knowledge more than its natural resources, should be more alert to design. Even though political power and often the economic one do not see it, the future goes throughDesignn!

In the future, as is already happening, brands, their communication, analog and digital products, and the associated services will undoubtedly play a crucial role in society.

The role ofDesignn is not just about making a visual identity that adapts to the "sophistication of dynamic digital communication" of the Portuguese government; it is necessary to think, do theDesignn, and develop a global system that solves the enormous problems of usability and accessibility that the channels, vulgarly websites, and other interaction mean to have.

4. System Proposal ??

It is necessary to start holistically thinking about, creating, and developing a Brand and Design System for Portugal.

We should not only try to solve the parts that suit us. To be what we have not been until now, we need to build accurate Design systems, such as inclusive workshops with stakeholders, a review of the public feedback process, or establishing a design review panel with diversified members. If we continue the path we have been taking, we will continue to discuss the insignificance of meaning and compete with each other instead of finding a space to collaborate.

It is time to wake up because we no longer live in the 20th Century!

We are no longer just talking about Users and how they use computers or cell phones. We are talking about many other things, like the need to give humanity valid experiences, leverage the evolution of technology in our favor, and combine these with the need to think about social, environmental, and governance sustainability.

We should recognize Don Norman for his extraordinary lessons aboutDesignn for the 21st Century and his intelligent relationship with the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are the 17 goals to transform our world into a more sustainable and better world.

Unfortunately, the people who manage and make strategic decisions for most companies and our nation do not realize the competitive advantage that design can bring to a country, an institution, or a brand of a product, service, or business.

They should have realized that the power of decisions, in addition to being who decides, is in the validation made by everyone. Designers, politicians, and managers have the responsibility and power to empathize with the experiences and opinions of their Stakeholders.

In case managers who like to position themselves as late majority or laggards do not know. In our country, there are as good or better strategists, innovators, and designers as those they want to hire, copy, (Sorry!) recontextualize.

I won't be able to give examples because you will know what I am talking about; they frequently happen in the public and private sectors.

At the time of the discoveries, someone had the design and courage to create a plan and a system, investing in the Human Capital and Intelligence that Portugal had at that time. Please take a look at where this astute decision took and placed us.

As the InVision Squads Documentary states, designers are the new explorers. I agree with this statement; I think that design and designers have to be respected and admired in our time. As John Maeda also says, designers are not artists; art raises questions. In opposition to artists, he emphasizes that the role of design is to solve problems and questions.

Designers must be seen for what they are; often, they are innovators who facilitate disruption.

Please, let's not confuse innovation with invention.

The design has to be part of the embryonic moment, sitting at the strategic decision-making table when thought and pondered. It cannot happen only after the decisions have been made and chewed over.

The design has five layers and can act in three different dimensions. One of these layers is part of that kickoff moment, where a proposal of intentions or briefing is recontextualized into real issues. An actual Design debrief will be defined through an investigation and its validation. If others do the design work with this competence, the process is positively conditioned from the start.

We are talking about intangible capital that politicians or managers can only perceive when they are focused on their "personal campaigns." Obviously, for political and economic reasons, a large majority lacks something that some designers have: the ability to sympathize and empathize.?This is one of the reasons why they needDesignn!

In this sense, I believe that the Portuguese State should not let the decisions made regarding Portugal's Brand and sub-brands—its various logos, strategy, experience, and application—depend only on partisan trends, secretaries, or ministers because this topic has value and capital on which, among other issues, the country's destinies depend.

5. Call to Action ??

Just as the Hon. Mr. President of the Republic in the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic counts on the strategic advice of the State Council, Portugal should form a commission composed, among others, of Designers, Anthropologists, Sociologists, Psychologists, Marketers, users of the Portugal brand. To provide consultancy and help make these strategic decisions at the level of the Brand Portugal and the country's identity.

To sit all the "Stakeholders" at the project table: people with different experiences and knowledge, specialists, and ordinary users with a connection to our nation's Brand.

In the case of design, this should be present in three dimensions: classical design, design thinking, and digital design.

Design has its space and knowledge, and it is at the same level as Politics, Economics, and Medicine, among others, because design can be the land of everyone. Still, it will never be the land of anyone.

The creation of a team of specialists has the potential to ask the right questions together. Control cannot be in who does or who requests because these can change, but Portugal will always be Portugal. In addition to validating, it should be responsible for presenting tangible and intangible results based on concrete objectives, and this team should also be evaluated with a regularity defined by an external and impartial body.

The idea behind this solution is that Brand Portugal cannot be affected by politics, interests, and other competencies; rather, it must be independent, congregating, effective, and timeless.

The problem is that we continue to live in a parochial way. Each piece that makes up Brand Portugal makes decisions independently without considering the whole, as there is no joint strategy. The result is the Frankenstein with which we live and experience every day.

Do we want to take advantage of individualities, or do we want to play as team Portugal?

The questions I ask only concern a holistic vision of Portugal's Brand and identity, which should happen with our country's Brand and symbols.

But it is just an opinion, mine.

Thank you for getting this far!