FUTURE-PROOF
CITY BRANDING

Cities are strongly marked by their past. Walking around the streets of Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, or Bruges, one is constantly confronted with history, embodied in architecture and monuments. Those landmarks, tangible, and reassuring, are easy to relate to. They form the first layer of a city’s brand identity, but they are frozen in time.

What makes up the essence of a city is often the present in constant motion: the sum of lifestyles, projects, trends, and policies that constitute the actual experience one might expect when travelling there, whether for business, leisure or to become part of the community.

Cities are continually transforming, welcoming new citizens, growing, adapting. As uncertain as projections may be, this will require short-, medium- and long-term thinking. The political aspect is crucial here, as it defines a time-limited space for reflection that often must be transcended. A city’s lifespan is measured in centuries, its identity must be considered in the light of resilience and of flexibility.

When it comes to inventing the future, all cities generally have a strategy, but not all have a vision. And that's what a holistic approach to branding will provide: a story in which the past meets the future, to be told in the present. A story that makes it possible to deliver on promises made. A story that highlights values shared by people of different ages, backgrounds, and occupations. A story that inspires others to come and be present in that place, as a visitor, a migrant, a worker.

How can such a vision be brought to life? First by understanding that it must be placed above current action plans, policies, strategies, and agendas. Those elements need to follow the vision. Second, by upholding three basic precepts: A vision is a direction, not a map. A vision is unique and universal at the same time. A vision is built for people.

With a population of 700 000, Malmö is Sweden's third-largest city and one of the earliest industrialized urban centres in Scandinavia. It is also one of the most eloquent examples of how defining a strong vision and sticking to it can produce astonishing results.

For decades, Malmö relied on its thriving shipbuilding industry, until the late 1970s, when the economic crisis wiped out the employment market and the municipality's finances. In 1997, the public authorities decided to close the chapter of the past and throw themselves fully into the future, with a focus on sustainability. A bold decision that led to a strong new vision and a reinvention of the identity of the entire city. Today, Malmö is a leading hub of innovation and has one of the highest rates of happiness in the world.

Berlin has been shaped by history and is the beacon of a city that is both unique and open to the world. From a past of division to a present of inclusivity, the German capital has strived to deliver on its promise of openness and universality. The symbolism of the wall and the dark days of the Cold War have been replaced by a new identity, that of a dynamic city where people from different backgrounds and walks of life find their place. A vision that is expressed not only in communication campaigns, but also in social policies, business empowerment and entrepreneurship, innovation, and attractiveness.

SKINN's rebranding of Knokke-Heist in 2022 showed how a relevant framework can reflect the diversity and richness of a location. The image of the hand fan used for the logo embodies the versatile yet unified DNA of the iconic Belgian coastal town, bringing together the five districts and their own specificities, as well as the experiences and expectations of residents and visitors. It shows the importance of the human factor in building a city's identity. The need to build a vision for the residents, not with a top-down approach, but by including all voices in the chorus.