More from Peter Saville on the Manchester branding exercise in an interview on the Marketing Advertising and Design website.

Saville reveals that the 'original modern' slogan (coined by his graphic designer friend Paul Barnes) is not actually a slogan: "I have not produced a slogan for Manchester. If a city uses a slogan, it suggests that it needs a slogan, and if it needs a slogan then it's got a problem."

Similarly the 'M' (and 'Manchester') logo is not actually a logo: "You've got to do something impressive, and a logo is not it."

Confused? Don't be.

The branding exercise is actually a "roadmap towards a better perception of the city". 'M' is, in fact, a "signifier of the brand vision". Original and modern are really "targets".

That's almost an open invitation in my book.

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