World Design Spotlight: Graphic image of the Valencian Government (Nebot, Lavernia and Bascuñán)

In 1984 the regional government, the Generalitat Valenciana, commissioned a series of surveys to verify the level of knowledge of Valencians about their government institutions. The results, which were extremely bad, illustrated the confusion and lack of knowledge regarding the activities and responsibilities of the different institutions. This serious communication problem thus posed required a solution that would involve a single image and an efficient system of application. 

Spain’s self-governing regions, known as Autonomous Communities, were still in the early stages of their creation and, of them all, Valencia was the first to confront the problem of its institutional image. It is important to bear all of this in mind when analysing the work, which took place historically at a time when symbols (the flag, the anthem, the very name of the autonomous community) were a constant source of confrontation. 

The Presidency of the Generalitat created a new department, that of corporate identity, under the orders of Mariano Castejón, who until then had worked in an advertising agency and who would shortly afterwards head the cabinet of President Lerma, just before the arrival in this position of a young Ximo Puig.

The first thing Castejón did to solve the institutional communication problem was to contact a group of young designers that was emerging in the city, the germ of what, as we would become aware years later, would be the foundation of design in Valencia today: the studio La Nave. 

Of the members of La Nave, eleven professionals with different specialities, the commission was given to three of them: Dani Nebot, Paco Bascuñán and Nacho Lavernia. 

“When they gave us this commission, the Generalitat was very modern, with a very clear idea of the need to have an unmistakably contemporary identity. Castejón said he had the commission of our lives,” says Dani Nebot remembering that moment.

They had lunch with him, in a bar near La Nave, in calle San Vicente, and he explained to them that the Generalitat intended to give this matter a great deal of importance. “At that time, in 1984, no autonomous community was more modern than Valencia. Only Madrid and its ‘movida’ was on the same level.”

The Administration wanted to transfer that modernity, which was present in civil society, to the official sphere. “That Generalitat was very modern. And this had to be carried over into its official image,” explains Nebot.

Mariano Castejón gave them the guidelines for the work. It had to be important. “We left feeling happy, but the next day we were turning it over in our minds. In an identity of this type, its most important value is its historical perspective. It was necessary to tread carefully so that it would not be a weapon hurled about in politics during the following years,” explains Dani Nebot. 

“Is it ready? Castejón asked me, when we called him to tell him about our doubts. The aim, we told him, must be to reinterpret the shield of Pere El Ceremoniós and it must be a symbol of consensus. He hung up on me and he didn’t speak to us for ten days. When he got over it, he called us and said that we were right.” 

In the beginning, both sides, Generalitat and designers, had considered the possibility of seeking a new symbol, free from all controversy, with the idea of thus avoiding conflicts and rejection. However, after analysing the circumstances, the creative team concluded that what was needed was just the opposite: it was necessary to use the language of history. The symbol of an institution that had existed for centuries, that represented the people as a whole, must possess the necessary graphic elements to reflect that historical condition. 

The designers began with a heraldic coat of arms, based on the helmet of Pere I El Ceremoniós, to create the identifying image of the Valencian Government. 

Although popular belief attributes the helmet of the Generalitat to Jaume I, this is not the case. “Pere El Ceremoniós was the great-grandson of Jaume I,” explains Nebot. “Everybody thinks that the symbol of the Generalitat is the helmet of Jaume I, but no, in the times of Jaume I there were no crests, they did not exist. Jaume I never wore that crest, since it is typical of Mediaeval jousts. The winged dragon of the helmet, like all symbols, represented something, in this case the fight against evil, and it formed part of the heraldry of Pere El Ceremoniós, in the 14^th century.” 

As Nebot explains, “at that time, in the eighties, heraldry had disappeared from the institutions, this symbol only remained in the Council de Valencia, with Pere el Ceremoniós as the protagonist. For that reason, precisely, it was rescued then for the corporate image of the Valencian Government.” 

“That shield was the reference we used to design the image. And the most modern thing in the world, in graphic image, is heraldry, quite the opposite of what the majority of people think. It is something totally literary. Heraldry tells you of morphology and colour, but every era has its tools. The coat of arms is the same, it will give the same information and it will give the same identity in all cases.” 

“We are proud that this symbol has never been argued over at a political level. They have argued about everything, but not the image,” says Nebot, contentedly. “This material has never aged. The Generalitat does not compete or accept challenges, it must be solvent. Full stop.” 

Did it need updating?

“Yes,” explains Dani Nebot when asked about the new version of the design that was completed in 2016. “This work belonged to an analogical era. It was necessary to adapt it for digital use. This works like a weather map, it has to stay the same, but each moment expresses its own sensitivity. And it is always up to date. Every era speaks of the sensitivity of the people at any time, that is what makes a design dynamic. Heraldry itself is dynamic.” 

In the latest version of the design there are some licences, it is not literal, but the instructions given are followed. The main components, which are the shield, helmet, dragon and crown, are maintained, but the number of graphic elements is reduced.

“I believe the most important thing is that with this work heraldry is vindicated as a dynamic identifying element. It is not stale or antiquated or obscure.”

“It is a humble work, and a very restrained work, designed for harmony, so that everybody feels represented. And with a great deal of graphic authority,” concludes the national Design Award winner.