Andreas Fogarasi — Public Brands: Bordeaux

The Public Brands project is concerned with branding in the public sector. As states, regions, cities, and districts increasingly define themselves in entrepreneurial terms, the way they represent themselves visually is also changing. Logos, claims, and corporate design are coming to replace traditional insignia of state power such as coats of arms or flags. The tourism sector was the first to try to position geographical locations as brands, following the example of private companies. Fogarasi illustrates this development with the logo of Bordeaux, an emblem made up of three interwoven crescents, which has been a fixed part of the visual history of the city ever since the 1930s.

Andreas Fogarasi (b. Austria, 1977) lives and works in Vienna.


Permanent project, 2004–ongoing