Boris Ljubičić is a world-known explorer of visual commu- nication and design. He was the president of Croatian Design- ers society from 2003 to 2005 and one of the 5 jury members in charge of choosing the best world logo in professional and student category S2010. He’s the visual identity author for the Mediterranean games and he has been heavily involved in cre- ating Croatian visual identity since the 90ties.
You have been a designer for over 3 decades, you’ve won numerous awards and your works are in every major world designer publications. What part of your career do you think helped most in establishing yourself as an artist? How much did your small-town background complicate things?
Th e most important is the fi rst period that lasted almost 10 years when no one accepted me. Th at’s the time when you develop your worldview and your personal att itude within it. Th ose works were unintelligible to potential clients but were actually self-explanatory and „ordinary“ people got them, un- like marketing experts who didn’t recognize in those works imported design that was desirable. For example, NEVA cos- metics was a copy of German brand NIVEA, Zagreb’s tobacco factory (TDZ) had a heraldic lion motif just like Phillip Mor- ris (on Marlboro cigarett es) but they had blue colour like the typical Zagreb blue, instead of gold. I designed the logo for Sarajevo’s tobacco factory (FDS) that had a cigarett e on each lett er, and the lett er F had a fi lter so everybody understood it was a tobacco factory logo. Th at was in 1973 and Sarajevo was a province compared to Zagreb. Th e most interesting example was the VIII. Mediterranean games that were held in Split in 1979; their logo was much defi ned and represented a derivate of the Olympic logo but it had 3 circles in blue (Europe), black (Africa) and yellow (Asia) that were the obligatory part of the bid. My design had only blue colour and the circles were un- even because they were immersed in the Mediterranean - a unique area that has its history, culture and civilisation. Th e
bid was repeated 3 times in 9 months and I sent the exact same design that is the offi cial logo of all future games in the Medi- terranean, just like the one for the Olympics. I liked designing absolute solutions where you have to use all the possibilities that the content off ers. Many of my designs weren’t used, like the one for the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984 or the one for the 1987 World University Games (Univerzijada) in Zagreb. I „broke“ rules there too. I call them my „unadjusted“ works that I adjusted later bit by bit and created them in a whole new concept. During socialism we were defi ned by our former country’s borders, but only my works were published in manuals and books from Japan to the US and Canada as ex- amples of their uniqueness and professionalism they exuded. I don’t mourn for a career in the West because I feel that the designer is responsible for the space and time he creates in.
You’ve been involved in creating Croatian national identity since the 90ties. How successful was Croatia in positioning herself as a global brand?
Not very much! Croatia complicated her visual story with her dull coat of arms and her fl ag that the politicians use to hide themselves, because it’s writt en in the Constitution and it’s a part of a politically indoctrinated nation with a claim that Croatia defended herself under that fl ag and that, surely, not every new government will have its own fl ag or even with a position that we should let this matt er rest since we have more important problems to deal with. It’s not a change in fl ag design, like some say-it’s a change of Croatia herself. Croatia has been without her vision for 20 years unfortunately. It’s actually the fi rst Croatia and the main reason for my project of SECOND Croatia. SECOND Croatia is not the fi rst; it’s a measure of humility but also of a brand new beginning. Th e fi rst Croatia was created by the fi rst president and his party but other parties also made their contribution and we have this today because you can’t turn back the time. Th e euphoria
and happiness that we experienced when we got our indepen- dence caused mistakes that will remain permanent unless we start over. Th ere’s no use in ‘crying over spilled milk’. Every- body is dissatisfi ed and unhappy nowadays; the economists, the workers, the syndicates, employed and unemployed, in- tellectuals...let’s face it, the fi rst Croatia is done with. To fi x it doesn’t make any sense-we need a SECOND Croatia. Elements of the vision are what we’ve writt en on 11 diff er- ent posters: 1/diff erent, 2/good, 3/beautiful, 4/worldly, 5/ Croatian. To isolate, recognize and form a SECOND Croatia we need to defi ne ourselves by using those 5 terms. We need diversity in regard to others, mostly our fi rst neighbours, and we have plenty of those but I’ll mention our sea and numerous islands that we have. Th e sea that we haven’t protected enough so I once launched a slogan: “SEA is LAND. “ Th e diff erence itself is not enough, it’s also important that it’s good. Only af- ter those two does the ‘beautiful’ come, as an aesthetic extract. If we have something global, like for example the cravat, then ‘Croatian’ is also global but the world needs to know it came from us. Why wouldn’t we have the fi rst museum of cravat in the world? Indeed, Croatian is something that doesn’t possess any of these characteristics or it does but not in abundance, but Croatian is Croatian and we need to cherish it, respect it, develop it...how to make it happen? By changing people? By changing of the system? Yes, but fi rst: we need to announce a change that will provide the energy and the vision to those who are dissatisfi ed and to tell them it’s the right time for them, for their SECOND Croatia. My project is very diff er- ent from any party program and their goal-to win the election. No, this is an awareness-changing project. Th e solutions that are on the posters are a bit more intellectual but I think that our people, especially the new generations, are not idiots and that they understand it as well as the fact they can’t do any- thing if this continues, with two parties with similar slogans; in that aspect we resent a unique case of idyll that is leading us slowly into abyss. Th e fl ag we have is the picture of Croa- tia we have. Th e concept of replacing the star with the coat of arms and its subsequent touch-ups is the fulfi lment of all those provincial desires of those who were responsible for the change, but also of the ones who wrote it into the Constitu- tion without a word. Th ose who deal with heraldry, historians and politicians used one artist they chose to design Croatia as a state, besides the fl ag. Th at of course followed the natural way of things and translated onto passports, registration tabs, IDs...and almost everybody is marked by visually coded by this identity, we have to be proud of it and to protect it according to law that is writt en in the Constitution. First of all, European republics don’t have coats of arms. We say it’s our history. It seems then that France, Italy, Germany or the Kingdom of Netherlands and the United Kingdom don’t have history. My concept is very simple and clear: how to preserve history in modern times. It’s a synthesis of tricolour and the historical coat of arms: entire surface is covered with squares in red, white and blue. Th eir size is the same in all 3 lines of colours so we have 3x6 or 18 squares, and we can also use a shorter version that fl ows bett er, 3x5 squares. Th e blue and red squares alternate when entering the second line and they give out a certain loose vibe that resembles our intended coastline. By using the concept known as 2 squares we can design sepa- rate logos and brands. You can fi nd it Croatian television logo (2 reds), Croatian Tourist Board (red and blue), Zagreb Fair (two white) and in some 50 or so other examples of mostly my design. Th e fact that they exist shows what the purpose of the fl ag is for, as a basic visual of one country. We are the only ones in the world who have a more recognizable football jersey than
the fl ag. Of course, we won’t change it. It’s funny that it was created for the fi rst game in 1990, meaning before the offi cial fl ag was created and that „mistake“ was fortunately perma- nent. My fl ag design form July 1990 was published in several newspapers at the time, with texts and interviews, but it didn’t have any eff ect. Now everybody follows some rule where we can’t change something we’ve absorbed and put into the Con- stitution when all the while we change a litt le something in that same Constitution. We can and we will, and it would be wise to do it before entering the EU.
You’re the author of the universally accepted two-inter- changeable-squares concept as the Croatian visual code, the popular „cubes“. What would you single out as the positive ex- amples of usage of that concept?
Th e fi rst usage was for Croatia Airlines logo, a blue and red square (1990-1992). It lasted only a short while but I provid- ed the same concept to restaurants CROATICA. Th ey were restaurants owned by Croats in Western Europe, mostly Ger- many. Th ere’s a saying: „Love goes through the stomach“. Th e application was on the cutlery (plates, cups, knives) because at the time nobody in Croatia was interested in that or in my idea about a visual identity of our new country. I tried by us- ing that concept to change the old one and to cover the key areas: media, economy, tourism, infrastructure, culture... nobody commissioned anything from me, they were all pub- lic bids. Juries usually consisted of people who were against my famous two-square design but my professionalism forced them to recognize and award it. Croatian national television was certainly the strongest as far the media goes, with is easy access to every household and corner of Croatia and even fur- ther than that. Many of the iconic jingles I did for the Croatian national television they don’t even keep in their archive today, only the logo remains. Th ey occasionally enlarge it but it car- ries no ideas in it. In one of their latest jingles they visualised the logo as a dog that follows the TV hostess as she announces the new fall programme. Zagreb Fair is alive all year round be- cause they always host exhibitions and fairs. Th eir obligatory fl ags that adorn the city make the logo visible but their media materials, web pages and other have a very small logo that’s almost invisible. Th eir logo shows a group of business people who have come from all over the world; one has a briefcase, other a smaller briefcase (fi le holder or a laptop) and together they make two white squares. Croatian tourism is under the jurisdiction of the Croatian Tourist Board and it represents the most serious promotion of Croatia in the world. Th eir logo can be translated into any world language without changing its design. I made a complete alphabet in an originally writ- ten press but the most important detail is the fourth lett er A that symbolizes the Adriatic Sea as the basic motif of our tourism. Th e Croatian Auto Club (HAK) is the simplest one because of the traffi c speed that symbolizes it. Th e solution is simple dynamic lett ering and alterative fi elds that are located on the fi rst lett er H and their tops create a dynamic red square (rhomboid). Th e Miroslav Krleža Lexicographic Institute has a permutation of the lett er L into lett er Z and of course, two squares. CRO SKI has a red and blue dive in squares like let- ters R and S. Th e squares don’t have to always be in red-blue- white colours because they can stand as a separate graphic form. Danubiumtours has a green and blue square because Danube fl ows through fl at Pannonia. Th e square patt ern can be indicated with grid lines like with Documentation Centre Museum or the Institute IGH (Croatian civil engineering in- stitute). Th ere are over 50 of my Croatian logos.
Croatia will be entering the EU soon. How do you plan on launching the Croatian brand in order to make it more market- able on the European market?
First, some information about the EU. In 2002 I started a project EUROPE 2020 in which I called upon all of my Eu- ropean colleagues, from and outside the EU, to give their vi- sion of the European future. In two public invitations (2003 and 2005) we received 240 posters in B1 format (70x100cm) that have been travelling, since then, through European capi- tals and politicians are in charge of offi cial openings. I opened one in Athens and Bruxelles and two in Zagreb. Th e mott o of my invitation was „Why? “and it said: „Europe is the cradle of Western civilization and it, as such, fostered the development of civilization in other parts of the world over the centuries. Its form is not homogeneous, neither is its identity. It does not have a single currency and many of its other features are also very diverse. Europe has its North and South, its East and West. Western European politicians try hard to unite Europe, while Eastern European politicians do their best to bring their countries closer to the European Union. Th ere are two main criteria on the basis of which the ultimate unifi cation of Eu- rope should be ‘measured’: time and the vision of what we wish Europe to be like in the future. Experience and numerous events that occurred in the past (particularly in the twentieth century) were by no means positive. Design is a new cultural, civilizational and economic achievement oriented towards the future, rather than the past. Europe needs visions of its future and its designers can and should provide such visions. Th ere- fore, let this exhibition be a stimulus for a project aimed at the creation of a vision of Europe in the future, that is, a project in which EVERYBODY (from Eastern and Western, Northern and Southern Europe) can participate. Th e amount of ideas and the competition among them will open new horizons and off er, perhaps, a glimpse into the visions which have been un- known so far. Th e twenty-fi rst century is a challenge for the entire world, particularly for Europe, because it is Europe that is still being constituted. Th e shaping of Europe is designers’ job in the widest sense of the word which is so frequently and extensively used, that is, of the medium which constantly changes the world. Th e large number of participants in this fi rst competition, as well as the high quality of their work proves that design can be a ‘synthesis of our continent.’“ Th e Croatian government and the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs have used this exhibition as a promotion tool for Croatian approach to EU although it was not intended for it. But, as we’re enter- ing the EU, completely unprepared in my opinion, we need to redesign the fl ag and other state features so that it naturally translates into the economy area, and if it doesn’t then we can tart with two squares on products and brands until we resolve this. But the question is who will force entrepreneurs to follow logic of design and to single out their product in huge Euro- pean market?
Last question: your plans for the future, new projects?
I have to say that almost all of my projects are borrowed from the future because they’re either not realized yet or they have yet to start living fully. Of course, I continue to create, with or without cause.