Open letter

expos1

Cette opinion a été adressé au quotidien The Gazette suite à la nouvelle controversée de la nouvelle identité du Grand Montréal, qui n’a jamais été publié.

The new Montreal identity for 500K ?

For 50K, the city could of launched a design/typo contest to the creative community in Montreal.  Maybe even a worldwide competition to designers. Ask museum’s & design specialists to jury. There you go, a PR strategy, for free.

At least an effort to see a collective shout out loud made. Why is this the first time we hear a public announcement of this project ?

We have Scott Burnham in town, creative pioneer directing the MTL BIENNALE in 2009, which is based on “open culture”.

We have a community of independent talent with ideas.

With such an act, we are far from innovation. Looks like EXPO67 all over again.

Artists have their rights, the city of Montreal should’ve encouraged creativity and originality in the Arts. The Arts should always be viewed as a primary, not secondary pillar of our society. The Arts represent an important part of our culture that we pass on to future generations, not through business development.

It is very frustrating to the entire design & communication industry to see that business handshacks and political snakes & latters are branding the city is a shame, and very far from inspiring.

“For the first time we can speak with one voice when do international promotion for the region,” Massimo Iezzoni, director of the Montreal Metropolitan Community shared to The Gazette earlier this week. One voice ? Which one voice ?  Which 80s PR firm has thought of this strategy ?

If I was Unesco, I would rethink giving grant to Montreal being a Design capital of the world. The plan now is to get cities as well as tourism and business development agencies to use the brand together with their own logo when promoting Montreal abroad… and who exactly will benefit from this promotion ?

Not only can we smell a rat that smells like the (flashback here) sponsorship scandal from a few years back, but also to see that Montreal is lacking creatively.

Pascal Beauchesne, Creative Strategist & co-founder

The Lab Foundation


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