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São Paulo No Logo

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80 photos | 216,545 views

Comments on this set

	changezi says: this would be the best thing to happen to any city. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	zehfernando says: It is. The city is already a lot better. I applaud this move. People will be fast to criticize the amount of jobless people created by such a law, but when the practice was already parasitic in the first place, who's to blame: the law maker, who stopped a practice which was already getting out of control, or the ad owners themselves, which often chose to place ads on illegal places and created obstacles for the law to be applied? Since no amount of self-regulation has worked and since the market has proven it doesn't have enough maturity for ads to be allowed, better to get rid of it altogether. Readers must notice that not all ads will be removed, though. Just the blatant huge ones, the "outdoors" that take up the sky and the huge front signs. Some regulated ads will still be ran, and actually expanded, specially on bus stops - they will all be controlled by a single entity, however, which makes the law easier to be enforced. A positive move, IMO. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	bonniegrrl says: I love this. It makes the city's sky seem that much bluer without ads cluttering up your view. I wish we had this law in the cities of the U.S. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	Hell's Donut House says: A truly awe-inspiring sight. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	Avant Game says: I hope that American cities follow suit. I'm ready to start the Berkeley movement! Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	mattebb says: That is so great, I'd love it to become a trend. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	clarkovsaturn says: hear hear! great new law, and fantastic image capturing it! may this become the new paradigm! Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	DannoHung says: Trampling on the freedom of speech is A-OKAY as long as it's commercial speech! :rolleyes: I'm usually fairly left socially, but I can't believe you all are applauding this. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	zehfernando says: Danno Hung: this is not about forbidding ads. This is about removing blatant huge outdoor ads that were already taking too much of the view in a city where we already see too little sky and were for the most part illegal anyway. You may say it's about freedom of speech, but when the right to remove the horizon from my eyes and replace it with an ad of a product I won't buy is given to the highest bidder, it's a little more than just that. And worse, when it starts getting more obnoxious by the year. I'm usually fairly right socially, and I work on the advertising business, and I am still applauding this. Such a heresy, uh? Well, that's how out of control the situation was. I am human before I am a consumer. They're giving me back my sky, my city texture, my walls, and my trees; how can I not applaud this? Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	tmurdoch says: Here in Bermuda we have always had similar laws about limiting ads and signage. It means when you drive down the road you can see the views etc. Always find it strange to visit the US and see all the billboards etc. Can't see how its a freedom of speech issue. People don't have the right to put loudspeakers in cities to blast out their thoughts - this is the same thing. Its about visual pollution really. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	airguitar says: Buildings without signs look abandoned. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	wildart1 says: Read a magazine or watch TV if you miss them. Skies are for birds and clouds. Buildings are for murals and stones. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	Degenitalization says: This is not a case of freedom of speech, it's a matter of aethetics. São Paulo is forward thinking in this respect. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	Pierre Lourens [deleted] says: Sao Paulo will look beautiful once the structures for those billboards are removed. It will look clean, efficient, and well thought out. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	gullevek says: Looks very eerie :) Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	Damiao Santana says: Caraca... isso chega a ser surreal!! Huhuuu... Recife bem que merecia ter uma lei dessas! Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	sonicwalker says: Very surreal, which points out how much we are used to our ad-polluted public spaces. Thank you for sharing the photos with us. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	rekha6 says: fantastic. what a brave policy. and what excellent photos. the IHT article www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/12/news/brazil.php is unclear as to whether local/small businesses will still be allowed to advertise outdoors in a smaller way, and whether there can be community service and municipal announcements. i wouldn't mind some of those, as long as they didn't create a slippery slope back to huge commercial advertising. local businesses, community service groups, and local govts often can't get their messages out in mainstream newspapers and TV. and they're usually drowned out on the street by the corporations that can afford the only legal (and best-placed) locations. maybe giving them back some street space would enhance a sense of community and contribute to a better informed populace. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	sonicwalker says: Featured on Boing Boing as well: www.boingboing.net/2007/04/14/sao_paulo_goes_adver.html Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	kwiatku says: f* great action :] Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	j_diefenderfer says: Remarkable how drab and austere the city looks without advertising. Would older cities built before the introduction of mass marketing adverts look the same? Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	zehfernando says: rekha6: I'm not sure if that's what you mean, but local business are allowed to place an ads on their front walls, although it has to respect some limits in used space. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	blackmarkets says: "I love this. It makes the city's sky seem that much bluer without ads cluttering up your view." Yeah, and the views of the commenters here seem that much screwier, uncluttered as they are by an appreciation of history, art and culture and any tolerance whatsoever of aesthetics beyond their own half-baked asceticism. The pictures are gruesome enough but the comments are even creepier. Banning the representative artform of our time ( which is what graphic advertising is) from the public sphere (with what little remains to be managed by the some sort of ministry of bus stop signage) is a blow for humanity? Strip the walls of your own cells bare if you want to, my little monks and nuns. You're welcome to enact your post-human fantasies in your own rooms ( I might even dig the look if you weren't intent on enforcing your tastes on the rest of us). But me, I kinda like the planet with signs of life sprinkled here in there--you know the cities, the commercial life that enables them, and the people who inhabit them (notice too the almost total lack of actual human beings in the photos --your aesthetic is obvious enough, buddy. To everyone else but you, most of those above, and, probably, below). Have no clue what I'm talking about? Here's a koan for you: no logo = a logo Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	rekha6 says: blackmarkets: It's rather unimaginative to think that advertising is the "representative artform of our time", the only "sign of life" we could have on our streets. It's tempting to think that advertising is representative, but remember it's all you can see because it's all that's allowed. Corporate postings are legal in most cities, but non-corporate postings are illegal. So big corporate advertising gets the prime spaces - bus shelters, rooftops, etc. "Authorized" does not equal "representative". True, some commenters prefer nothing on the streetscape. but others here, including myself, don't want ads by multinationals taking up physical and mental space that small businesses, community groups, and individuals should have a right to as well. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	tom-b says: "Representative artform of our time" ?! - Dude, in Sao Paulo what you got was mainly the default Windows font set, optically stretched of course, in any permutation of red, yellow and blue. Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	tgia1977 says: it is a shame to see the naked city left behind. i agree that there was too much visual poluition, bt there are 20 million other things that need to fixed in a city like sao paulo, and the evryday advertising is one that could be fixed later. its not jst taking out billboards, they are not even allowing store owners to have the name of their stores in front! we have more problems such as sidewalk sellers, including FOOD which is by no mean up to code with hygene.. why dont we fix that first??? the buses let out a great big black cloud of poluition that is not doing anyone any good in breathing it! our buses are 10 years old, they fall appart as they drive to the city... can u imagine japan or time square without its adornments?????? Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )
	markgamon says: Anyone thinking this is some kind of freedom of speech issue should bear in mind that freedom of speech also lets in the Nazi Party. It's one thing to speak freely; another to speak the truth. Which is not advertising's strong point. Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )
	rodto says: Less visual pollution! Kudos! Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )
	+arch_student+ says: Congratulations Sao Paulo! Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )
	Jessica May H says: what an amazing project. as a student of graphic design and passionate photographer this really appeals to me. beautiful and telling Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )
	Rico Thunder says: ALL outdoor signage? Weird. Looks like something out of a dream. I like that the signposts themselves remain like ghosts. Beautiful and surreal. Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )
	somebody3 says: I'm having a hard time figuring out how public transportation there will find funding to replace those old busses dumping polution into the pretty blue skies without outdoor advertising. I'm all for scenery...but how far do you want to take this? Do you want to knock down all the skyscrapers, too? Then people's homes? At the furthest extreme, anything man-made is blocking our view of the environment. If the agencies are breaking rules & posting ads where it is illegal to do so, let's place blame correctly, and suggest that the laws need to be better enforced. Charge the ad agencies more to post ads, and use that money to fund enforcement...or to fund other pro-environment campaigns in the city, such as recycling. Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )
	vonlutzau says: Hi Tony! Good shots ! The idea is fantastico ! Keep on doing these good things to mankind! Loved the afternoon with you and Egli ! CU soon ! Ruedeger Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )
	Stephen1968 says: I wonder if it would be legal there to replace all the signage with "this space intentionally left blank". :-D Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )
	nivek2002 says: Fantastic! Great job documenting this! Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )
	hahatango says: I'd love to see more streetscape images...down the streets, wide angles, users perspective..The images here are fantastic, but so composed, and missing the crowds of people to conflict with the now bare environment. I take it people are still allowed to wear shirts with logos right? or is that off limits as well ;) Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )
	paul.boshears says: Thanks for posting these pictures - I hope the city does well. Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )
	biscuitcrackers says: Great set of images Tony. I've posted a link to your image sets on our blog covering design miscellany. I'd like to include a picture link. Let me know if that would be OK. Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )
	onesevenone says: Very cool set! Where is the fave-Button for this set?! If you find it please press it for me! Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )
	Ed_X says: Lots of political discussion and "what if's" and 'suppose that' Whichever way you turn it, i don't care, it is a great decision and I applaud it. Pictures are good too. Nice documentary photography. Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )
	(M)(U)(N)(D)(A)(N)(O) says: caraca tony... os gringos curtiram mesmo! abs Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )
	Stewf says: Font magazine was just published with your photos. You should be getting some copies soon. Thank you so much for letting us use them! Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )
	zeazara says: the photos only look cool because the structures of ads are still there and visible. i dont know how many graffiti writers are busy in sao paulo, but maybe there is hope that they will fill the gaps of images with their special kind of "advertisment". because if not and if the old ad-structures have finally disappeared there is not much left than another grey and boring looking city. removing ads doesn't make a city more beautiful. the only advantage is, that you now see the urgent need of changing and reconstructing the city as a whole clearlier than ever before. Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )
	Frocoli says: this is amazing Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )
	moodshine says: the overall impression of the photos is empty and creepy. it looks like a ghost town. i wonder to what extent useful signage is hindered. excellent photos, very powerful - but would i want that to happen to my city? no way. Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )
	d r a w i n g l i n e s says: "os gringos curtiram mesmo!" Haha! Eh verdade.. Gostei muito das fotos, Tony. Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )
	BLAST * INDASTRIA says: CIAO, ...please, contact me, for a interview on Italian Magazine ( www.paperexperience.com).. Photo, Art Writing and Graphic MAG: Bye Luca indastria@agentespeciale.com Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )
	Good for Party says: I don't know if I'm down with advertising being legislated out of existence, but at the same time, there is a serenity in the visual silence of a street with no ads. We blogged this photo set today: goodforparty.squarespace.com/journal/2007/10/1/where-the-... Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )
	le mec qui n'est pas says: advertisement does no good to anyone, and serves no one, except the advertisers. sure, advertisement can be seen as a form of art, especially when we look at it retrospectively, but the harm it provokes in people's minds by inducing them to buy products to get satisfaction much outweighs the value of that artistic form. artists would easily move to other fields should advertisement be banned. nazi propaganda from pre-war times is not less artistic than a 1920s coca-cola ad. i can't less than applaud this decision. Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )
	Jeff. says: Interesting. Now if they would just eliminate any building, structure, vehicle, color, line, shape, texture, book, magazine, newspaper, road, fashion, artistic expression, object, animal or person that offends their aesthetic sensibilities Sao Paulo would truly be a beautiful place. Viva La Liberte Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )
	le mec qui n'est pas says: Some things are plain harmful, and freedom shouldn't be an excuse for complaining with an always tolerant approach. Freedom is at stake of course. Stopping elements from distorting the beauty of freedom, that's what limiting advertisement is. You are free to go and buy a Coke. You are free to go and get the new cosmetic lotion. Yet it's nothing but an illusion of freedom. Don't tell me what I love, don't tell me what I need, what I desire, and what I aspire to, and I will find those things. Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )
	C.Lisboa says: This act has been my dream for decades! And now has come true! I don't care who did this, nor why, but Now we can see the city! The people! deserve to see and enjoy their city! Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )
	danperry.com says: Wow. It's easy to imagine, but much different to actually see it. Thanks for sharing. Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )
	caiogustavo says: são paulo a cidade maravilhosa :D amoo³ são paulo Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )
	barbyb88 says: sandra model early www lily model com little estate agents Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )
	kaparkins says: very cool set. I posted it over to the "best of flickr" group on mixx.com. www.mixx.com/groups/bestofflickr Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )
	JPLS says: beleza!!! Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )
	Giò Fuga Type says: Ottima iniziativa! Ci vorrebbe anche in città come Milano dove iniziano a comparire mega pubblicità che inquinano il paesaggio urbano e non fanno dormire per le potenti illuminazioni, chi ci abita vicino. Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )
	obstinato says: Love the idea! Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )
	bangkokbeat says: your work is so admirable and inspiring. Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )
	Thiefree says: Wonderful concept for a set, and some stunning pictures. Thanks! Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )
	schoschie says: Incredible, actually. Politicians do seem to have power over large companies once in a while. I don't even have to begin thinking about the odds of this ever happening where I live. But luckily, there aren't too many billboards here yet. Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )
	schoschie says: Now that I've read all the comments, I'm wondering what's going on in the minds of those who would want their billboards back. Predominant art-form of our time? if you think advertising is art, you probably haven't seen any real work of art whatsoever for a very long time. Also, it's nice to be out in the country once in a while. You might remember what the world looks like, away from your block and your mall. Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )
	katalink says: Does anyone know of another city that has also decalred a ban on billboards? Please let me know if you do. Emaiil me at david (dot) taboada (at) katalink (dot) net Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	talita virgínia says: acho bem pertinente esse ensaio.... além de ter ficado mto bom fotograficamente, vc tava atento no q tava acontecendo e foi o primeiro (até onde eu sei) a fazer esses registros... parabéns! Posted 2 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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São Paulo No Logo

Comments on this set

changezi says:

zehfernando says:

bonniegrrl says:

Hell's Donut House says:

Avant Game says:

mattebb says:

clarkovsaturn says:

DannoHung says:

zehfernando says:

tmurdoch says:

airguitar says:

wildart1 says:

Degenitalization says:

Pierre Lourens [deleted] says:

gullevek says:

Damiao Santana says:

sonicwalker says:

rekha6 says:

sonicwalker says:

kwiatku says:

j_diefenderfer says:

zehfernando says:

blackmarkets says:

rekha6 says:

tom-b says:

tgia1977 says:

markgamon says:

rodto says:

+arch_student+ says:

Jessica May H says:

Rico Thunder says:

somebody3 says:

vonlutzau says:

Stephen1968 says:

nivek2002 says:

hahatango says:

paul.boshears says:

biscuitcrackers says:

onesevenone says:

Ed_X says:

(M)(U)(N)(D)(A)(N)(O) says:

Stewf says:

zeazara says:

Frocoli says:

moodshine says:

d r a w i n g l i n e s says:

BLAST * INDASTRIA says:

Good for Party says:

le mec qui n'est pas says:

Jeff. says:

le mec qui n'est pas says:

C.Lisboa says:

danperry.com says:

caiogustavo says:

barbyb88 says:

kaparkins says:

JPLS says:

Giò Fuga Type says:

obstinato says:

bangkokbeat says:

Thiefree says:

schoschie says:

schoschie says:

katalink says:

talita virgínia says:

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