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Partners and creators of idArg, Hernán Berdichevsky and Gustavo Stecher explain the origins of the project and its road to become one of most recognized branding projects in the world of design.
By recycling what sometimes can be very few resources, creativity is often praised as a characteristic of Argentine professionals. In other words, making the most of adverse situations and generating other stimulant and prosperous scenarios seems to be a part of the Argentine entrepreneurial sprit. The creation and development of the idArg project is a good example for understanding the actual application of such notions.
¿How did this project to redefine Argentine identity through its icons come up?
Gustavo Stecher: It was totally our own initiative. It had to do with the context, a very critical time (the Argentine crisis of 2001) But we always believed crisis to be opportunities and we maintained that position.
Hernán Berdichevsky: When the crisis hit us, we somehow interpreted what was going on and tried to have a particular vision from our own perspective, which is graphics. And we tried to do something about Argentina.
¿What was the icons selection process like?
Together: Caos
HB: During that time, our studio was like a psychological trench. The people who stayed in the country during that crisis didn’t know much what to do, around all that stress and pessimism. We were able to form an amazing work climate. A lot of people came by with their ideas, and from that point we began creating and polishing ideas from a graphic and conceptual perspective. Anyway, it was arbitrary.
GS: We believe that the construction of an identity is a totally anarchic thing. And the good thing was that the construction of the book was also anarchic. Making a book about identity has to deal with whims, individual education, and consulting.
HB: There was a lot that came from our own generation. It was the first crisis that strongly hit our pockets. We felt anguish, rage, and hope, a bit of everything. There were characters that helped us breathing, and others that made us mad. Parallel to the concept, there was also a graphic concern. Why did we choose Evita over Perón? After Madonna, the Evita icon extended worldwide. Any drawing would raise Madonna. It was a matter of icons, which only work this way.
What about the informative texts? Were they supposed to work as a verbal support?
HB: We started to find alternative ways. With some icons, like San Martin, an explanation was required. Because the graphic interest was totally abstract, and could not be understood. The story matter, then, was pretty different than the graphic concept. We wanted something more autochthonous, more critical and funny.
GS: Lots of self-criticism, yes. They are very iconic texts. The idea was always to put on data, self-criticism, and humor. We were clear on wanting that since the beginning. And also that it should be a conceptual anchor, because we don’t like to repeat the way of common captions. It’s a book about Argentine identity. We work with icons because it’s our strongest way to communicate. But we’re clear on the fact that in order to address Argentine identity the icon itself is not good enough unless it has some conceptual anchorage. And we wanted the icon to tell everything that it could.
Berdichevsky and Stecher have a huge collection of anecdotes to explain the presence of each one of the book’s 75 icons. For example, including José de San Martín (a main character in Latin America’s independence movements and regarded as Argentina’s forefather) as an icon was suggested by designer and visual communicator Norberto Chaves, who was later in charge of writing the book’s prologue. Gustavo Stecher says about this: “And San Martin was lacking because while we were doing it, we were in the need of some closure. And the important, sustainable values we defend are embodied in San Martín as an Argentine character or icon. Even more so than all the rest in there”.
What criterion was used to organize them?
GS: It was very hard; at one time we even thought of doing it alphabetically. In the end, we gave it a try. Just as anarchic as the construction of reality and identity is, we made the book within an order that represented us. And that’s how it came out: each icon connects to the next creating a rhythm, a climate. It starts off with the nation, the country, and then with geography, Patagonia, the Pampa, certain nature’s elements like the ombú. And in the end the more cultural constructions appear, like characters. And the ending with San Martín is precisely that. We started off with the nation, and we ended with the nation.
Ernesto Che Guevara was another controversial icon. “We argued a lot about it. But we are not passing judgment here. Che is Argentinean, he’s the most famous Argentine icon in the world”, says Gustavo Stecher. His partner adds: “That was fun, because it is an icon of an icon. When we decided to go with Che, we thought “where do we start off? “ There is only one place, the photo. And so, ¿how we make an icon out of an icon? It is one of my favorites. The same thing happened with the Madres’ handkerchief”
What kind of aesthetics was chosen?
GS: On one hand, the style is very much like us, on the other it is very synthetic, very deprived, with a minimum of resources.
Did you aim –even if it was in an unspoken way- to intervene in political or cultural debate about Argentine identity and national self?
GS: There was no original deliberate idea to do so, but it was the plan 100% in terms of cultural intervention. Our plan was to show a different Argentina. It’s not the photo book with the gaucho and the coin string. It’s not just that. Argentina’s diversity is huge, with a mixture of races and cultural situations
HB: Anyway, we always hoped this would be a thing not just for tourists but for Argentine people as well.
Who did you think it was for?
HB: A bit of everything. We wanted to do something good out of that crisis, something that could tell the way we are. We tried to change from the outside in and at the same time, from the inside out.
Which one is your favourite icon?
HB: For me the one on tango is the best icon, it has magic
GS: The one of Che is probably the one that’s better drawn and resolved. I think it was a very difficult icon and it turned out flawless. As for national identity, there is one that took a life of its own: the cow. Maybe the one I like the most is the Pampa, because it was the first, the most synthetic and conceptual of all.
¿And if you had to add one?
GS: I don’t have any bottled up. If it’s a matter of liking, I always think I’d love to add Don Atahualpa Yupanqui. Maybe the reason why we didn’t include him had to do with choosing to do so better by stressing the absence, through the charango, the erke, and the sikus. And the Nobel Prizes as well. I think it’s a feature of Argentina that has to do with a golden age of education and our universities.
They both seem proud and satisfied with their work. And they should be. Not only have they put a country’s identity into debate, but they have retaken it as well. And as an unexpected outcome, they found a country brand very well accomplished and effective, a high value feature in the world of visual signs communication. Finishing up, Berdichevsky rephrases its partner’s words: “Gustavo has a saying: “I have the feeling we did things right” And for that phrase I can sleep at night. The project started off with no money and without any aspirations. And it ended up with a shop, a book and an incredible project, all by struggling.”
