One of the most terrible tragedies in the history of mankind was the man-made disaster of 1986. The explosion of a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant claimed the lives of thousands of people who were doing their official duty, saving the population, endangering their families, but helping others, taking an incredible dose of radiation, and suffering unbearably physically.
Thirty-five years have passed since then, and the traces of this tragedy are still not erased from the memory of the witnesses of those times. Those who were young managed to leave the danger zone in time, still cannot realize this and are considered a miracle. Over time, not only scientific interest but also ordinary human curiosity began to overcome people of different nationalities from different countries, so now there are various tourist opportunities to visit this place with a guide as part of a group of adventurers and adventure lovers. Since 2011, adrenaline-thirsty enthusiasts have come here repeatedly to get around the 43,000 square meter Chernobyl zone km. The radiation dose is no longer significant, yet it is strictly forbidden to live in those places. A short-term stay can be compared to a one-hour flight by plane, so nothing terrible, except for deserted places, no longer awaits the lover of wandering through abandoned places.
The ghost town has become a new gathering point for tourists and a tourist attraction in Ukraine. Already, unfortunately, not as a blooming and colorful corner of the Ukrainian land, but as scorched earth, as a wasteland, as an empty nest, alluring with its mysterious emptiness and loneliness. During the period of the covid pandemic, any movement on that territory was prohibited. Now, in the circumstances of easing quarantine, the government of Ukraine is again trying to draw the attention of society and return the previous interest in the Chernobyl region. That is why the idea of the logo came about.
Interestingly, today the Department of Tourism of Ukraine declares that the exclusion zone is a developing region. Some sites are planned to be added to the list of world cultural heritage.
The creative agency that developed the brand’s logo is the design agency, Banda. What can you think of unusual for a place where there is nothing but devastation anymore?
And the designers came up with a deep idea that touchingly reflects all the bitterness of memory and hope for a better future.
It is impossible to say whether they specifically chose an ecological approach to the development of the identity or whether the place itself simply inspired it; the logo became the embodiment of the intensity of the radiation spot, which will become less and less bright over the years. For the logo, 78 variations were invented, which fade year after year.
The logo looks like a black octahedron, the corners of which become jagged, forming a black ball inside the figure, like a black hole. According to the changes in the ecological situation in the region, the logo will change, each of 78 options will be presented. The last symbol will look like a small black dot, from which thin black rays rush in different directions. This is a symbol of oblivion, leaving sadness and openness to a new era.
