Designing the logo for the newly formed Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Serbia is hopefully the first building block of a quinquennial plan for NY-based, Bosnia-born Mirko Ilić.
Through this bicolor logo, he’s demonstrating his heartfelt intellectual support for his country fellowmen as they transition into a new era of hope, following the assassination of Prime Minister Djindjic. From his transnational post in NYC Ilić has continually embodied—through his work and (a)political stance—a spirit of independence and of challenging protocols, authorities and prejudices. It was at the infamous Belgrade gay parade last year that Ilić met 46-year-old Chedomir Jovanovic, founder of this new party and leader of the student movement that rid post-Yugoslavia of dictator Milosevic.
Out of their mutual respect came a simple, manifesto-like brand identity focused on the exclamation point, a final graphic expression of action and revolution. Stepping away from the original logo, which in the words of the designer “looked like a German bank’s,” the new identity uses stencil, a process also used by the original Serbian student movement and echoing others before it: rough but clean. What’s exciting about this project is to see how four characters (L + D + P + !) bring together the personal and the political, unearthing deeply rooted beliefs in change and a nuanced understanding of the term national(ism).
