Communication, Science, and (still) the Portuguese Republic Logo

It is said that communication is a personal skill as old as the wise debates of Socrates (of Ancient Greece!). However, if eloquence were an art mastered by all, we would be discussing philosophy instead of wasting time on trivialities, as often happens.

The reality tells us that there is much ignorance about fundamental concepts surrounding communication. One of them is understanding that we are not talking about a merely decorative tool. Communication is the compass that measures the impact of ideas on society.

Communication is governed by parameters, based on scientific knowledge, and shaped by strategies. It’s not just about rooting for a football club, because not everyone can score goals like Ronaldo!

Instead of flooding this article with a tedious list of technical principles about communication, I prefer to refer to the recent controversy over the Portuguese Republic logo as a kind of modern allegory. Suddenly, Portugal witnessed a boom of fast-skilling commentators in graphic design and communication, in a frenzy of opinions and personal tastes. I have my own opinion about the Portuguese Republic logo, but I reserve it for gatherings among friends, where I often end up subjugating it to professional reason. A defect inherent in the trade.

As a communication manager, it is not my personal tastes that mark my decisions or professional conduct. It is the criteria, the facts, the technical evidence, and naturally, the results.

Similar to a scientist who seeks to understand the world through observation, but essentially through experimentation and systematic analysis, with facts and evidence, communication also relies on technical and scientific principles. If we bear in mind that a laboratory is the setting where theories are tested and results are documented, communication can be the stage where messages are shaped and impacts are measured.

In other words, if science is the search for truth through experimentation, communication is the art of making that truth accessible and understandable to all. Communicating is not only vital but essential. Communication thus becomes imperative to ensure that knowledge is within everyone’s reach. But it’s important to do it with technical knowledge, strategic vision, creative thinking, and analytical capacity. A path to the next article, more focused this time, on the communication of the blue economy and bioeconomy.