Yesterday the story broke about a new identity for the city of Moscow, and it sparked several different thoughts on what I think we can learn from it.

The story first broke on the Brand New blog about this crazy new look for Moscow.  Apparently the concept of the new logo is Surprise + Smile = Wow and uses emoticons at its core.

Here are a few things I think we can learn from this identity.

1. Be careful with trends. Emoticons are a trendy tool right now, which can be a bit risky. But they also make me think of happiness, which can help a place like Moscow as "happy" is not one of the first few words I think of to describe it.
2. Make sure its authentic. If I visit Moscow will this Identity fit with my experience there?  If so, then great.  If it seems to not match my experience, then it's not authentic and will only break my trust with the city.
3. You don't always need someone else's approval. My favorite thing about this project is that it wasn't endorsed by the city. It was taken on as a person project of architect Nicholas Pereslegina and designer Alexander Pershikova. I love to see people take initiative and do something they think will be impactful even if they don't have all the proper approvals.  Thank you for inspring me Nicholas and Alexander!

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