Bolivia captures sprawling diversity in revitalised place brand

Widely considered one of the most remarkable countries in South America, Bolivia’s rich and diverse landscape is full of mystery. From the world’s largest salt flat in the Salar de Uyuni, to the remnants of the pre-Columbian Tiwanaku civilisation, Bolivia’s identity is embedded in long-established principles of liberty, openness and integration. Fitting its tagline as the ‘Heart of the south,’ the Ministry of Communication makes the recent announcement to rejuvenate its country brand, uncovering the nation’s vast wonder.

Designed by the Spanish arm of global design agency, Futurebrand, the updated visual identity harnesses Bolivia’s diversity, typified in the country’s official name as the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 37 official languages, Bolivia’s increasingly multifaceted society is made of up interwoven traditions, with indigenous ethnic groups making up 20 percent of the population. Capturing this, the brand’s principle logo now incorporates Bolivia’s distinguished textiles tradition, featuring the four key fabrics from the Altiplano, Amazonas, Andes and Valle regions.

Futurebrand, says, “Confronted with the perception barrier that constitutes their external image; which is anchored in stereotypes (corruption, insecurity, etc.), Bolivia has decided to manage its image in an active way through the creation of a country brand. The challenge was to attract flows of capital and people, in all its areas of activity and in short, to project its capacity to achieve political, economic, and social stability by showing its uniqueness against other countries within its environment.”

With the brand’s values grounded in ‘Mother nature’ and a ‘Living essence,’ the visual identity establishes a richness of colour exemplified in a light, energetic colour palette and graphics that follow an angular dimension defined by squared and triangular patterns. An updated font also compliments the culture-focused logo, with previous iterations of Bolivia’s place brand centred around the typeface-logo combination.

Earlier this month, Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, announced the launch of its country brand in the country’s administrative capital, La Paz. Along with the brand launch, the project is also accompanied by a microsite, documenting further testimonials and insights illustrating the importance of the work.