Rebranding Belfast

Chromatopes of (Post-)Conflict

Bibliographic Data

ID13085681
AuthorsRobert E Moore (0000-0001-6291-6661, California University of Pennsylvania, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume4
IssueS1
PagesS138-S162
Publication date2016-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSigns and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2326-4489 • E-ISSN: 2326-4497
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1086/684688
OpenAlexW2312185550
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited36

In 2007, Belfast City Council contracted with a London-based branding consultancy to develop a new brand identity for the city. The result was a new logo (a heart-shaped letter B), a bespoke typeface, and a set of brand guidelines designed to reflect “Belfast’s coming of age, the turning of a new page and the new shared enthusiasm which is palpable to all those who experience the city.” A key element of the rebranding was an official palette of sixteen colors to be deployed in association with the logo. Nonprimary hues with low saturation predominate in the new color scheme, which is overlaid upon a complex preexisting system of vivid sectarian color contrasts that mark, among other things, the partitioning of space in a “divided city.” Drawing on recent work in the semiotic anthropology of branding, the article shows that the rebranding of Belfast is part of a larger effort to frame recent histories of ethno-sectarian conflict in terms of “cultural” diversity

Advertising · Art · Bespoke · Business · Enthusiasm · Linguistics · Logo (programming language · Media studies · Rebranding · Semiotics · Sociology · Typeface · Visual arts · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Computer Science · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Psychology · Social Psychology · Marketing