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The material for this site has been produced by
Europa and
Peter =
Nencini in response to a commission by
Radar. =
It is accompanied by three billboards sited around the town of =
Loughborough.=0A=
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THE IDENTITY FACADE=0A=
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=E2=80=99ough=E2=80=99ough=0A=
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Loughborough is a mid-size market town located in the =
very centre of England. You don=E2=80=99t need to look past the name =
before getting an indication of a more distinct character of place. =
=E2=80=98ough=E2=80=99 is one of the strangest letter sequences in the =
English language. It is pronounceable in no less than ten phonetic =
variations and Loughborough is the only word or name in English where it =
occurs twice. Our work in Loughborough has engaged us with thinking =
about identity and place and the graphic designer=E2=80=99s role in =
relation to this. Much of our time visiting Loughborough has been =
seeking out the unusual bits that contribute to the character of the =
town =E2=80=93 the =E2=80=98ough=E2=80=99 and the =E2=80=98ough=E2=80=99 =
rather than the =E2=80=98L=E2=80=99 and the =E2=80=98bor=E2=80=99.=0A=
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Identity Fascism=0A=
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The phrase =E2=80=98corporate identity=E2=80=99 was =
=E2=80=98coined in the 1950s to describe how all of an =
organisation=E2=80=99s visible manifestations are designed to create a =
coherent whole associated with a specific theme, attitude, or =
personality=E2=80=99.1 =E2=80=98Identity=E2=80=99 in this =
context is metaphor that allows us to deal with companies as if they =
were people with individual characteristics, memory and a soul. When the =
language of these corporations is applied to a place an uneasy clash =
happens. The language of the world of profit and sales starts to define =
a place and a group of people. This raises questions of why a place =
needs to be sold =E2=80=93 who is selling it, and who is it being sold =
to? A brand defines what something is =E2=80=93 selecting and distilling =
chosen characteristics into graphic form. As a result of this, a brand =
also defines what the same thing is not. So if a brand is colourful =
=E2=80=93 then it excludes a preference for monochrome, if it is playful =
=E2=80=93 then it excludes the serious, and so on. =
=E2=80=98=E2=80=A6simplification denies the complexity of life=E2=80=99s =
experience, for while simple statements, familiar and repeated imagery =
sell the product and the idea most efficiently, they also reinforce =
restricting separations.=E2=80=992 Contradictions are =
characteristics of a mixed society. Could a graphic identity be designed =
which is suitably diverse, and could it still be =
=E2=80=98coherent=E2=80=99 or is incoherence precisely the point?=0A=
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A brand has been created for Loughborough by the =
business improvement district. =E2=80=98Love =
Loughborough=E2=80=99 is accompanied by a heart made up of =
smaller pictograms. The majority of these are applicable to most English =
towns and cities. However pictograms of the Carillon and the Sock Statue =
locate the brand in Loughborough. The brand echoes perhaps the most =
famous piece of place-based marketing =E2=80=93 the =E2=80=98I heart =
NY=E2=80=99 design by Milton Glaser in 1977. What Glaser=E2=80=99s =
identity does so successfully is to allow the individual space for =
participation. If you choose to wear a bag that says =E2=80=98I heart =
NY=E2=80=99, then you choose to take part in the brand. You become the =
=E2=80=98I=E2=80=99 and enter into a dialogue with the city. The =
unsolicited remixes of =E2=80=98I heart NY=E2=80=99 further cement the =
participatory nature of the brand =E2=80=93 I =E2=80=98pizza=E2=80=99 =
this, I =E2=80=98orange=E2=80=99 that =E2=80=93 the brand is easily =
manipulated to give alternative messages, yet each of these messages =
reinforce a celebration of the city. =E2=80=98Love Loughborough=E2=80=99 =
doesn=E2=80=99t have this capacity for consumer participation. Instead, =
it acts as a command where you are ordered to =E2=80=98love=E2=80=99 the =
town. It is an attempt to dictate an opinion which is a problem because =
it=E2=80=99s something you need to sign up to or be left out of. This is =
symptomatic of the culture of ready-made, one size fits all place =
branding =E2=80=93 where any notion of self-identity is subsumed by the =
eagerness to match =E2=80=98competing=E2=80=99 places. As a result these =
homogenous identities degrade the very qualities of the place they claim =
to embody.=0A=
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New York is perceived as a cultural capital of the =
world, so the idea that everyone goes to New York and feels compelled to =
declare their love for it holds a certain amount of plausibility. We =
feel that the same is not true for everywhere which reminds us of this =
bag designed by Martin Frostner and Jake Ford which declared =E2=80=98I =
Like My Town=E2=80=99. There is a humble beauty about this message which =
seems fitting. The words were inspired by this quote by Georges Perec =
from the Species of Spaces:=0A=
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=E2=80=98I like my town, but I can=E2=80=99t say =
exactly what I like about it. I don=E2=80=99t think it=E2=80=99s the =
smell. I=E2=80=99m too accustomed to the monuments to want to look at =
them. I like certain lights, a few bridges, caf=C3=A9 terraces. I love =
passing through a place I haven=E2=80=99t seen for a long =
time.=E2=80=993=0A=
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Graphic Archaeology=0A=
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For the past five years we have been working with local =
councils and community groups on a variety of public realm projects. =
There is a general sense in the briefing of such projects that there is =
a lack of identity in these places. What is this place? What was this =
place? What could this place become? For us a key requirement of =
responding to this task is drawing out and enriching a place=E2=80=99s =
cultural identity, to =E2=80=98add coherence to an existing =
neighbourhood through new interventions=E2=80=994.=0A=
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If an identity presents itself as the definition of =
a place, then it is immediately oppressive, but how can you graphically =
respond to a place without ending up with a single definitive brand? In =
these projects we often find ourselves looking for opportunities where =
graphic design can have a specific application: a wayfinding system for =
truck drivers, an identity for a community workshop, an alternative =
walking guide to an area. After gaining an understanding of the dynamics =
of a place we often find ourselves rewriting the brief in order to open =
up opportunities for our work to gain usefulness. We look to create =
situations where groups can form and have a graphic means of =
communicating, without a dogmatic stylistic direction claiming to =
represent everyone in the area. This approach allows for the =
multiplicity which is usually lost when characteristics of place are =
watered down into a graphic mark. =0A=
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Stories help us understand a place. Our =
understanding of these stories defines how we think about a place, what =
we expect from it and what we give back to it. How the stories are =
remembered and told is a political issue that defines a place =E2=80=93 =
what stories we retell and encourage, and what stories we allow =
ourselves to forget. Traditionally myth and folklore were created and =
passed down through tales and songs. These tales have provided a basis =
upon which the cultural identity of places are built. Stories are later =
embedded naturally into the artefacts, architecture and landscapes which =
survive beyond their time, these are physical signs which hold on to =
narratives. Stories are also actively recorded in the urban fabric in =
the form of monuments =E2=80=93 follies whose primary purpose is the act =
of remembering. History is written by those with the money and influence =
to make such recordings.=0A=
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Most places have established stories that are told =
about them. In the case of Loughborough, the presence of a company like =
Brush who build and export turbines globally becomes a characteristic of =
the town. The monumental Falcon Works overlooks the train station and =
the Brush social club extends the influence of the company further into =
the social fabric of the town. But there are pricklier stories too. =
Loughborough=E2=80=99s Immigration Enforcement Reporting Centre =
registers immigrants based in the three surrounding cities of =
Nottingham, Derby and Leicester. What place is there which could be more =
relevant to a discussion on identity than the centre which grants a =
British identity to a lucky few of those who visit it. Two very =
different organisations both playing hugely significant roles in the =
town, but it=E2=80=99s the Falcon works which provides the material =
suitable for the Loughborough=E2=80=99s postcard =
=E2=80=93 a typical method by which an image of a place gets projected =
to the outside world. But internally stories are more readily told =
through informal methods such as chat, gossip, argument or joke. These =
have an immediacy which is powerful to the few who hear them. You can =
bet the conversations in the local pub are more often about the =
Immigration Enforcement Reporting Centre than they are about the Falcon =
Works. These everyday conversations might create a more powerful =
impression then what is on the postcard, but how quickly does that =
impression fade with time.=0A=
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Not every story can be told and many won=E2=80=99t =
feel relevant to a given project. But as a working methodology we are =
interested in excavating these artefacts and exploring some new =
mythologies out of fragments of the past and present. Objects are often =
able to articulate things that humans cannot. In the words of the =
designer Norman Potter =E2=80=98=E2=80=A6every human artefact =E2=80=93 =
whether painting, poem, chair, or rubbish bin =E2=80=93 evokes and =
invokes the inescapable totality of a culture, and the hidden =
assumptions which condition cultural priorities=E2=80=995. A =
philosophy of design and production, of place and time, is embodied in =
each and every object. By looking at the materials and forms at hand in =
a place, the byproducts of human endeavours, we get a sense of the =
layers of history that have laid the foundations of a place. These =
materials, and the stories that come with them, can then form the basis =
of a graphic response to a place.=0A=
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Ad-Bricolage-Hocism=0A=
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In the book Adhocism Charles Jencks and Nathan Silver =
describe ways of working which reuse existing materials in order to =
solve new problems. Adhocism is the reconfiguring of existing elements =
in order to achieve a specific purpose. =E2=80=98Designers are often =
taught to reduce things to their essence, but in fact that process too =
often results in the reduction of the ideas to only one of their =
parts.=E2=80=996 An adhoc approach favours nuance and =
pluralism over reduction and standardisation.7 The =
Loughborough coat of arms was created in this spirit. A bricolage of =
existing forms taken from three families who had once owned the town. =
The bull=E2=80=99s head and the maunch (lady=E2=80=99s sleeve) are =
symbolic of the Hastings family. The lion is taken from the Beaumont =
Family. The cockleshells and lace pattern come from the Arms of the =
Despencer Family. Whilst these individual forms are already reduced they =
carry with them a broader historical narrative and a more open ended set =
of references and embrace pluralism.=0A=
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As well as associative value, objects carry traces =
and histories all of their own in a way that reduced graphic forms =
struggle to retain. A logo, for example, craves reduction for ease of =
reproduction and immediacy of communication. This reduction of messages =
is what we see in many place-based branding projects and is something we =
see happening in architectural spaces too.=0A=
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In Belco, Northern Ireland, the local authorities =
felt that it was necessary to bring new life to the high street ahead of =
the 39th G8 summit where it would be on show to world leaders and press. =
In a number of shops the authorities installed printed vinyl in the =
windows which showed busy vibrant shops. The shop shown here was once a =
butcher=E2=80=99s shop but had gone out of business. In this moment two =
versions of Belco exist at the same time=C2=A0=E2=80=93 the image of the =
place and the real place. Ironically the official theme of the 2013 =
summit was transparency.=0A=
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Whilst we really enjoy this brilliantly executed =
illustration of how all places are a combination of a physical place =
alongside a projected image of a place, we suspect it wasn=E2=80=99t =
intended in this spirit. Instead it shows a more sombre longing for =
another time, an idealised image of a time when the high streets role =
within society served a different level of importance. By pretending =
that time and change hasn=E2=80=99t happened it feels like history is =
being denied. Pretending that nothing has changed since the 50s is not =
celebrating history, instead it denies the layers of change and =
complexity that make something old.=0A=
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=E2=80=98Attempts at returning buildings to their =
original condition =E2=80=A6 robs them of the very quality for which =
they are prized; oldness, leaving behind shells that show no sign or =
wear and tear and are innocent of history.=E2=80=998=0A=
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But then again perhaps this =E2=80=98original =
condition=E2=80=99 never existed in the first place, and the longing =
that is felt, particularly in the Belco case, is simply concealing this =
truth. =E2=80=98Nostalgia like any form of narrative, is always =
ideological: the past it seeks has never existed except as narrative, =
and hence, always absent.=E2=80=999 By looking for and =
highlighting unique layers of local history, one could be hiding the =
fact that under corporate capitalism every place is in fact the same. =
There is nothing unique, just Costa Coffee. Uniqueness is exactly what =
the mercantile competition craves, nothing more.=0A=
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Visual Accent=0A=
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Where there is a need for visual communication there is =
a need for a graphic language. We are much more comfortable with the =
term =E2=80=98language=E2=80=99 than we are with =
=E2=80=98identity=E2=80=99. A language implies something which is =
pliable and can be shaped by its users. Identity implies something more =
rigid, a finished item to be respected and adhered to.=0A=
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We are specifically interested in the difference =
between our common language and the discrete variations of articulation =
within in a specific place. A familiar example of this is the accent =
with which we speak. This is also true of how we communicate visually. =
The visual accent of a place is what we are often looking to unearth in =
projects which deal with place.=0A=
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With this commission we have been looking to =
distinguish between what we feel is an English characteristic, what is a =
Loughborian characteristic and what is an individual characteristic. At =
this point can we start to identify what the accent of the place is? And =
can we learn to speak in this voice, or will we always be =
=E2=80=98putting on=E2=80=99 this accent?=0A=
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Foreign Eyes=0A=
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Loughborough is located at the centre of a triangle of =
cities, and the main roads out of town Leicester Road, Nottingham Road =
and Derby Road attest to this. As a market town Loughborough has served =
as a common meeting point between the cities=E2=80=99 traders.=0A=
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Our approach to working in Loughborough has been =
through a method of triangulation =E2=80=93 gaining a variety of =
viewpoints which allow us to gain a sense of the place =E2=80=93 and =
doing this through a series of organised and also random encounters with =
local people, for example, meeting two Loughborough Town of Sanctuary =
volunteers outside the East Midlands Immigration Enforcement Centre. =
They provide a welcome, some practical information and the offer of a =
free hot drink to asylum seekers tasked with travelling weekly to sign =
in. This led us to John Storer House who provide those free hot drinks =
and further conversation in a vibrant community space. There a =
one-day-a-week volunteer spoke with relish of the varied requests that =
come her way. The port-of-call reception desk, offering cheap locally =
grown courgettes, epitomised this span of exchange, a narrative of civic =
actions and activism in a climate of cuts.=0A=
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A tatting-shuttle in the Charnwood Museum told of =
nineteenth century lacemakers supplementing their factory work with this =
complex hand technique. This interaction of hand and tool brings us to =
the Sports Technology Institute=E2=80=99s Steve Carr and his test run of =
a bonelike, low-melting-point, plastic tennis racket grip, designed for =
a para-athlete who had lost their ability to grip the racket. Steve is =
head of technical services and runs the test lab which holds a =
cross-section of kit from ball kicking robots and motion capture rigs to =
lathes, drills and welders. This oscillation from =
hardware-to-software-to-hardware mirrors Steve=E2=80=99s agility in =
tackling each research project whether it be the aerodynamic testing of =
Adidas=E2=80=99 next World Cup football, or the design and fabrication =
of a bespoke archery frame for Paralympian Danielle Brown. Whilst =
explaining the structural composition of dismembered match balls, Steve =
referred to the two interlocking panel types as =E2=80=98turbines and =
rotors=E2=80=99 recalling our visit to Brush and their turbogenerator =
manufacturing.=0A=
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Through a day of what we could call =
=E2=80=98identity consulting=E2=80=99 we asked passers by to share their =
stories of Loughborough with us. We set up in a vacant shop in the =
Carillon shopping centre. Visitors were asked to create object =
compositions with produce from the market and other pre-prepared =
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What can we bring to the place through working here? We began as =
outsiders, looking at the town with the fresh eyes of a tourist. This =
provides us with both advantages and weaknesses over those who are =
familiar with the place. Foreign eyes notice things that familiar ones =
overlook, but at the same time they lack knowledge. Through a process of =
discovery, time spent in the place and encounters with locals we begin =
an act of learning and processing before being able to convey something =
back visually.=0A=
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A place can never be viewed as a whole. Taking a reading =
of a place is a useful way by which we can provoke a conversation about =
a place. We have worked with a range of objects that reference stories =
that we have encountered in the city. The work we have created is not =
presented as the new identity for Loughborough, it does not claim to =
define the place, but it is a response to Loughborough that explores its =
identity in an open ended way. Through a juxtaposition of objects we =
encourage viewers to reflect on Loughborough and provoke further thought =
about the place. We explore no more than a few of the infinite number of =
stories that make up the town. Our selection of objects and our =
stylistic preferences are deliberate and subjective, but this shows the =
very essence of personal involvement that is lacking in the bland, =
un-nuanced branding that has come to define many towns and cities.=0A=
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1 Wally Olins, On =
Brand, Thames and Hudson, p204=0A=
2 Sheila =
Levrant de Bretteville, A Reexamination of Some Aspects of the Design =
Arts from the Perspective of a Woman Designer, Arts in Society: Women =
and the Arts, Spring=E2=80=93Summer 1974, p116=0A=
3 Georges =
Perec, Species of Spaces and Other Pieces, Penguin, p63=0A=
4 Mae, Places =
for Strangers, Park Books, p28=0A=
5 Norman =
Potter, What is a Designer, Hyphen Press, p15=0A=
6 Sheila =
Levrant de Bretteville, A Reexamination of Some Aspects of the Design =
Arts from the Perspective of a Woman Designer, Arts in Society: Women =
and the Arts, Spring=E2=80=93Summer 1974, p115=0A=
7 Charles =
Jencks and Nathan Silver, Adhocism, MIT Press, pviii=0A=
8 =
Ir=C3=A9n=C3=A9e Scalbert on Raphael Samuel, Never Modern, Park Books, =
p34=0A=
9 Susan =
Stewart, On Longing, Duke University Press, p23=0A=
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