By Tatiana Bogomazova
“Last year, the media reported that Minsk’s leadership had addressed foreign advertising agencies, particularly those in Britain, seeking to develop a brand for our capital for the 2014 IIHF Championships. However, I’m also confident that Belarusians can make interesting suggestions,” notes Stanislav Galkovsky. “Much has been written concerning using a Minsk building as the basis for the brand but I’m proposing a completely different concept. The brand should be simple, understandable and recognisable, so that it can be drawn by either an adult or a child arriving from Canada, Finland, France or anywhere else. It’s vital that it always brings to mind Minsk and Belarus as a whole.”
According to Mr. Galkovsky, Belarus boasts its own tourist attractions which differ drastically from those in Europe and Asia. Our country is ideal for family holidays. “Tourists admire the pyramids in Egypt and drink wine in Greece while we can offer our own advantages: spa breaks, ski resorts and trips for nature lovers in European forests. All are set against a background of an almost complete absence of criminality, while being very affordable for foreigners,” notes Mr. Galkovsky. “Overall, our country is clean, family oriented and happy; the capital of our state — Minsk — is a happy city. We should encourage foreign tourists to think of a simple but attractive image when they picture our capital.”
Mr. Galkovsky’s idea is to stylise the letter ‘M’ to include a symbolic family of a mother and father holding their baby in their hands, accompanied by the inscription: ‘Happy City’. The ‘logo’ could be drawn even by a child, in a single flourish. He notes that the drawing is a prototype which could be improved by professional artists for the 2014 IIHF Championships if it proves popular.
The Gomel innovator has also come up with a unique hybrid form of cutlery, combining a knife, fork and hockey stick; he plans to produce it in Belarus on the eve of the World Ice Hockey Championship and has entered it for the 100 Ideas for Belarus contest.
