In 2004 the magazine Grande Reportagem, a Portuguese news magazine, switched from being an independent monthly publication to a weekly supplement in the Saturday edition of the daily national newspaper Diário de Notícias.

The creative challenge of the campaign was to reaffirm the magazine’s unchanged commitment to serious journalism by focusing on topics that are important for people’s understanding of the world today.

The campaign encompasses eight fundamental themes. In addition to child labour and the war in Iraq, other subjects addressed the distribution of wealth in Brazil, child mortality in Burkina Faso, drug trafficing in Columbia, the abuse of woman in Somalia, the spread of infectious diseases in Angola and energy wastage in the European Union.

This led the creative team to the concept “Meet the world” and to the idea of using flags of different nations as vehicles to transmit it. In each case, the colours that appear on various national flags were used to symbolise a social or political issue that is specific to the country in question.

Icaro Doria, a 25 year young Brazilian who works for the magazine Grande Reportagem in Lisbon via FCB Publicidade (*the ad agency) created this poster campaign of flags together with Luis Silva Dias, Joso Roque and Andrea Vallenti.

Epica Award

Inspired by the great artwork by Brazilian designer Icaro Doria for the magazine Grande Reportagem in Lisbon, Portugal, Sven Assmann designed a German flag in 2006. He found the flags at anina.net.

The current European flag, with the twelve golden stars against a blue background, was designed in 1955. Since then society in Europe has changed dramatically. Nowadays various cultures live and work together in a relative small area. What is the impact of this new, dynamic society with its diversity in culture, language and traditions on Europe’s identity? How do Europeans experience Europe? And how can that identity take shape?

Designers from across the world have been invited to consider these questions and to submit their ideas for a new symbol for Europe. More than 1,400 designs from 63 countries were received. An international jury selected twelve. These new symbols will adorn the flagpoles at the Hofvijver for a week.

Outdoor exhibition
Hofvijver, The Hague
Monday 31 May until Sunday 6 June

Design Den Haag

EU flag

Aber Achtung. Die Nudeln müssen gewissenhaft zubereitet werden. Sie müssen Biss haben und dürfen nicht verkochen. Und der Sugo, die Soße, wird am besten mit viel Liebe und Sorgfalt aus den besten Zutaten kreiert…

Deutschland muß ebenso mit viel Liebe und Sorgfalt behandelt werden. Nur so ist es von feiner Qualtät und kann allen schmecken.”

Thomas Sälzle, Oktober 2009