Urquía Uriaguereca, ÍñigoUriaguereca, Íñigo Urquía2026-01-172026-01-172023-05Uriaguereca, Í U 2023, 'Making promise visible through design : the case of the City of Vienna place brand', Strategic Design Research Journal, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 270-279. https://doi.org/10.4013/sdrj.2023.162.051984-2988https://hdl.handle.net/10641/7404Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos. All rights reserved.This article aims to review two fundamental concepts of the doctrine of corporate identity pioneer Wally Olins: the corporate brand as a "promise" and the effectiveness of brand architecture to make it visible. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Olin’s passing, we propose to vindicate the figure of one of the most influential theorists and practitioners in the field of organizational strategy and design. The paper investigates the concept of "promise" from a philosophical and anthropological perspective. Specifically, it takes as a framework of interpretation the philosophy inaugurated by José Ortega y Gasset and continued by Julián Marías for the understanding of human life and communities. The theory of brand architecture as a visual solution to imagine the structure and relationships of an organization is also reviewed. Finally, these concepts are verified based on a branding case developed by the consulting firm Saffron for the City of Vienna. The analyzed case reveals the benefits of clarifying a common promise in the face of an identity problem, as well as the effectiveness of brand architecture to manifest it symbolically.10513969enghttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/BrandingCorporate identityDesignPhilosophyPlace BrandingWally OlinsModeling and SimulationGeneral Arts and HumanitiesGeneral EngineeringYesyesjournal articleopen access10.4013/sdrj.2023.162.05https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85217781606https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85217781606#tab=citedBy