KYIV TOGETHER
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN • CLASS PROJECT
THE GOAL
A class project with the intention of creating a campaign for change in a foreign country; with a strong emphasis on culture & research to create a design intended for the chosen demographic. This project included two weeks of extensive research into the Ukrainian culture, with a focus on the city of Kyiv. This campaign was created during Ukraine's conflict with Russia, with the intention to be used after the conflict has subsided.
The campaign titled "Kyiv Together", was designed to target the residence of Kyiv in a war torn city. The message throughout the campaign is to encourage the creation and strengthening of community groups in the city with the intention of improving mental health and support of individuals in times of need. In order to create a message and visual identity that would be relevant to the demographic and setting, research was done on Ukrainian culture, traditions, symbolism, and the history of mental health and crisis in Ukraine.
THE PROCESS
For this project, I was tasked with identifying an issue in the the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, and then create a campaign for the issue, designed from the perspective of a designer based in Kyiv. This was a difficult task, as this project begin just 2 weeks after Russia attacked Ukraine, and the country was in turmoil. I conducted extensive research into the history and culture of Ukraine and Kyiv, as well as research into design trends, my demographic, and other information that could be useful for the design process.
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After completing my research, I decided my issue would be the mental health and community support in the city; with the campaign to be carried out after the direct conflicted has subsided, and the city begins the process of rebuilding. Mental health has long been an issue for the city and country of Ukraine as a whole, and it lacked proper medical care before the current conflict begin. Due to the tragedy of war, and the destruction of medical facilities and housing, mental health and the issues caused by it will be on the rise.
I really wanted to create a message and visuals that would speak to the people of Kyiv, so the final designs I developed through my planning and sketching were designed with multiple layers of meaning into each design.
THE RESULT
The final designs I created were designed with different titles and text that were translated into Ukrainian, with the typeface chosen for the titles using type created by a type foundry located in Kyiv. During the design process, I intended to purchase more fonts from the foundry, but their website eventually went down as the conflict worsened.
The next layer of meaning is in the textured elements contained in the design, these were created by editing actual images of the city, and in some cases the people, and the destruction around them.
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The "brick" or stone pattern forming the design is to represent not only the textural landscape of the city, but also symbolizes the strength of people when coming together, with the various sections highlighted by the Ukrainian colors to symbolize individuals within the group. The brick is strength and support in numbers.
Next are the shapes that the pattern is clipped into, some of them show symbolism that hold importance to the people of Kyiv, including the Ukrainian coat of arms, the silhouette of the statue in independence square, as well as showing the shapes of people within the brick pattern.