Matthieu's MPP

How to enhance Brussels’ identity not only to reconfirm its status as the capital of Europe, but also to make its citizens proud of their own city?

The complexity in defining Brussels’ identity is the reason why I decided to develop a visual identity for the city. The identity issues that we come across in Belgium or Brussels are the same ones we encounter at a bigger scale: Europe. Indeed, Belgium or Europe are examples of nations where applying one identity based on a single vision would be a failure as they are made of an intricate mixture of different cultures. Therefore creating an identity capable of combining different identities in an equitable way would be the appropriate answer, as it will:

1. Relinquish Brussels image in the heart of its inhabitants, allowing the Brusselers to be proud of their city again.

2. Communicate a unique, multi-cultural and clear identity to the international communities, which would allow the city to reinstate its status as European Capital.

Furthermore, experimenting and creating a new multi-facet identity for the city Brussels, seems like an evident choice, not only because it is the capital of Europe, but also because Belgium has always been considered as the laboratory of the EU in terms of cultural cohabitation.

During this project I will investigate on city branding and culture branding. I will try to understand how a culture can be branded, and define the different characteristics of each Belgian community and how they interact with each other.

Therefore, I will also carry a deep research not only on Brussels, (Investigate it’s political situation in Belgium, it’s history within Europe, it’s inhabitants, bilingual status, Architecture…) but I will also study the aspects both the Flemish and the Walloon culture and I will compare their different characteristics.

I will also investigate the area of generative systems and flexible identities. The aim of my assignment will be to create a visual identity that would convey a very specific image of Brussels that would be only applicable to this great city.