The Nation Brand Image: Representation of the Identity and Creation of an Image of Places

The chapter proposes an analysis of the phenomenon of nation branding from the point of view of the attribution of an identity to places and the consequent development of a collective imagination related to them. The starting point for this analysis is a historical excursus concerning the formation of a collective imaginary of places. Nation branding is a recent phenomenon, which takes up the legacy of other historical phenomena to propose an imaginary linked to the identity aspects of a nation, synthesising it in a few graphic signs through a brand. The chapter describes this process of the construction of the identity of a place and its visual expression through a brand image. The analysis is limited to the nation recognizability as a tourism destination and does not take under consideration the nation products and economy. The considerations are supported by the analysis of some emblematic case studies of brand image classified according to their graphic characteristics.