Rethinking placebranding through the lens of design
By David Aboulkheir
When two major disciplinary fields meet, perspectives broaden. Too often, design and place branding have overlooked each other. Yet, their hybridisation could spur fruitful innovation, reinventing our models and practices to address key challenges faced by places. So why do place branders need designers and, conversely, what can place branding processes contribute to the world of design?
From product design to design thinking
Already recognised in the corporate world for its capacity to generate added value (McKinsey), design has entered the public realm. No longer reduced to its “product” dimension that seeks harmony between aesthetics and function - object, furniture, building, graphic design - it has found new applications in the market and non-market economy of service. The public sector now integrates it to rethink, reshape, re-enchant the numerous daily services provided to citizens: in administration, transport, healthcare or cultural sectors. In the knowledge economy, design has evolved more toward a process, a mindset, a problem-solving approach, evidenced by the advent of design-thinking. Design has intervened in the ways of thinking and doing of local authorities. It is now turning into a preferred instrument for developing the overall place experience.
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