Black History Month 2022 — Campaign design, University of the Arts London
Black History Month is a celebration of Black history and Black culture in the United Kingdom every October. This year’s Black History Month theme is ‘Time for Change: Action Not Words.’
Our University of the Arts London (UAL), Communications team briefed us for this year's campaign — the first time a full campaign has been commissioned by the University. Bunmi Ekundayo, Communications Manager, who led the project briefed us: 'It’s a time to highlight our Black community and set up the space to do so permanently, not just annually. This year’s campaign will be a collaborative process with content being sourced directly from our students, staff, and alumni.'
With the message for this years Black History Month at it's heart, the idea of collaboration and knowing we wanted to take this October and beyond, the visuals were inspired by every day actions, and wider interactions of the Black experience. We also took inspiration from how often these actions are related to resistance movements and protest as well as a rich history. We wanted celebrate the magic which happens in these interactions, big or small, the everyday to the less frequent.
Originally the concept was focussed solely on hair and the meaningfullness of Black hair, past, present, future. After pitching this concept, we were soon tasked with evolving it further to broaden the visual stories away from just hair. Sandy Christ, had found our advertisement for an illustrator via Arts Temps, and joined us soon after this. Showing hands in action and highlighting them was a great addition Sandy bought to the concept. This idea helps unify the set of illustrations; the campaign now shows hands in action — braiding hair, protesting and enjoying food.
We knew we wanted to work with an illustrator for this concept. This is a sensitive subject area and we felt that we could be more expressive and hopefully resonate differently working with illustrations. It was really important for us to collaborate with someone who had a lived experience of the messages we were hoping to convey. Working with Sandy was a real pleasure. Right from our first meeting, through to the final delivery Sandy brought a great creative energy, an openness and a wealth of ideas. We highly recommend Sandy and really welcome the opportunity to collaborate again in the future.
We hope we achieved what we set out to do with this campaign, and we look forward to continue celebrating our Black community not just for October, but beyond.
Illustrations
Sandy Christ, she/her/hers
Freelance Illustrator
2022 MA Graphic Communication Design, Central Saint Martins, UAL
Campaign artworker and animation
Lila Meyer, she/her/hers
Graphic Designer (Arts Temps), Brand and Creative Services
2022 MA Graphic Communication Design, Central Saint Martins, UAL
Creative Direction and Concept Design
Stephanie Feather, she/her/hers
Design Lead, Brand and Creative Services
2008 BA Graphic Design, Central Saint Martins, UAL
The University of the Arts London, Creative Services team is made up of alumni, recent graduates and current students. We are one half of the Brand and Creative Services team and sit within the Communication and External Affairs department based at High Holborn. We also work with freelance designers through Arts Temps, our university recruitment agency and jobs board, which gives UAL students and alumni opportunities to work with our team, around the university and many other agencies.
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University of The Arts London (UAL)
- Design