When Edi Rama was voted in as mayor of Tirana, the destitute Albanian capital city, he prioritized the replacement of the neutral colours of the former communist regime with bright, flamboyant visuals (Pusca, 2008). Edi Rama’s objective was to create a sense of immediate physical change to represent the social change that was to come in time. Rama’s intention was to use visual cues to instill an immediate feeling of confidence with the people of Tirana while inspiring them to engage in his long range vision of positive change (Pusca, 2008). Employing teams of painters to transform the plain grey buildings of the city with colour and art, the people of Tirana embraced this immediate visual change of their cityscape, experiencing first hand that the new government was more than just talk. Although the visual change Tirana immediately uplifted the residents, this was only the beginning of the transformation that was to take place. As word of the artistic revival spread across Europe, tourists began traveling to Albania to witness the colourful capital city, bringing waves of foreign income and opportunities for the people of Tirana (Pusca, 2008). Adding to this influx of wealthy tourists, many of the Albanian economic elite who had left their city for opportunities elsewhere realized that their native land was in the process of revitalization began returning back to live and do business in the capital city. Within the city, the visual transformation sparked a new relationship between the people and government, with residents and business owners becoming engaged in communication with those holding office. Whether they liked the artistic style or not, people were talking, interacting, working with one another, and rebuilding social capitol in entirely new ways (Pusca, 2008).
Rama used art and design to make positive change and influenced the people of his community to become engaged and elevate the social capital of the city. This example, effective in its applications and long term results, supports the value of positive visual elements in helping to improve society.