The Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME/PAHO/WHO) celebrated its 55th anniversary on March 3rd. To mark this important date, which coincides with the year in which the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) turns 120, a commemorative stamp was created.
BIREME’s graphic design professionals, Marina Pierri and Marcio Alves da Silva, in the SCI/PFI and MTI/AFI Managements respectively, in coordination with the GA Management and the Institutional Communication Area, were responsible for creating the 55-year-old seal and the combination with the Organization’s 120th anniversary seal, developed by professionals at PAHO Headquarters.
The resulting logo (55th+120th) was then applied to graphic materials that are being used by BIREME throughout 2022 in official agendas and correspondence, PowerPoint presentations, email signatures and virtual meeting backgrounds. An updated tag cloud with the Center’s main products and services also illustrates the graphic materials.
The first-hand use of the combined seal by Sebastián Garcia Saiso, Director of the Department of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health and Interim Director of BIREME, in two strategic events stands out: (1) an internal meeting to evaluate the Organizational outputs of PAHO/WHO in 2020-2021 on March 3; and (2) the launch of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) Network meeting calendar for 2022 on March 23. On both occasions, Sebastián highlighted the importance of the date, rescuing historical elements and the current and future perspectives of BIREME as it celebrates 55 years and its mission aligned with the democratization of access to information for the countries of the Region.
According to Marcio Alves da Silva, Systems Developer in the management of Methodologies and Information Technologies, “the creation of a logo, a commemorative seal and a large part of the visual materials involves a lot of research work, whether about the institution itself, product, or service, as well as similar ones, even if it is to go in another direction. Layout trends, color palette and typography will be key to good work. It also requires many tests of inserting and removing elements to tell the story or demonstrate renewal and create the desired impact, always looking for something pleasant for the institution and the public.”
“The concept of visual identity is made up of several components and strategic foundations, which aim to provide unity and identity to all the presentation items of a given object through its visual aspect”, says Marina Pierri, Visual Programmer at SCI management. “The visual identity developed for BIREME’s anniversary is intentionally a graphic evolution of the previous identity, with the clear intention of translating the concept of institutional renewal and strengthening. The new construction seeks, however, to be more balanced and transparent, with a more contemporary design, whose elegance is expressed through the fonts used for the logo and graphic elements in the other materials”, adds Marina.
Thus, the BIREME/PAHO/WHO team also fraternizes on the occasion, for which it will use the materials prepared, also to support the institutional strengthening of the Center and in recognition of its historical institutional partners, network of supporters, users, and collaborators.