We had the amazing opportunity to design the city’s visual identity, launched in 2014. Drawing from the cityscape, the people, the heritage and culture, we wanted to communicate a global, open city, proud of its character.
Porto is a city with a strong personality. It has a recognizable attitude that is unmistakably ours. We added a dot to the name of the city to give the logo the strength and assertive nature of its people and character.
But for each citizen, Porto can also be different things. We wanted each resident to recognise their own Porto in the city’s visual identity. More than a single icon or logo, the visual identity needed complexity. It needed stories.
We designed a system of icons inspired by the narrative blue tiles that cover so many historical buildings in the city. Stories were told in those ‘azulejos’, stories are still being told with the new icons that can be added to this dynamic system, following developments and signaling new events.
Since 2014, ‘Porto.’ has been criss-crossing the city in public transport and service vehicles, uniforms and porticoes of events, sidings of public works and urban furniture. It has been proudly tattooed. It has become part of the city.
