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 14th century.”