Alexandr
Galaganov

Art director

Brand of our city has a lot of facets, citizens see it different ways in the light of their own experience, but there are some facets that are perceived by everyone in this city. The environment we live in everyday and remember first of all about the city is its architecture.

I would like to tell about one aspect of our architectural environment – signboards that were giving rise to the image of the city – its originality and beauty till now.

City Image

I don’t see any difference between contemporary and beautiful. It is an important point to be made. Signboards and logotypes were made at any times, because it is a necessary attribute for every city. The situation in Murmansk and perhaps in other cities is like this – “old” (soviet) signboards are much more interesting and precious for the city brand than signboards of our days. The main aspect of this problem is an artistic realization of contemporary projects.

A signboard is a result of work of many specialists in different spheres. But only a designer is making a “fundament” of the city image, creating attractive logotypes and unique signboards. Sometimes designers don’t realize their responsibility in this case, but no doubt the result depends a lot on the designer’s ideas.

I will tell more about this problem and tell you in details about outdoor advertisement and how to change streets of our city to give them back their beauty and individuality in time of city brand globalization and to keep the inspiration of bygone signboards.

For memory

Today I would like to start a series of photo publication that will keep forever the last days, hours, weeks (underline as necessary) of the most famous signboards in our city. It is necessary to stop the moment, make some conclusions and begin to change the situation.

We began our tour from “hospital town”, it is said that it was an elite district of the city. It is difficult to believe in it now, but only signboards can prove it.

This signboard is on the building next to my house that I lived in my childhood.

Interesting fact

Artemiy Lebedev came to our city for a “Week of design” in 2005. He visited this district and also made a photo with this logo, that was brought in a book about Yuriy Gordon’s letters.

We live near beautiful examples of calligraphic works and don’t know about it, but we have to!

To be continued.