OECD Reinforcing Democracy branding
The OECD’s Reinforcing Democracy Initiative is all about providing guidance and good international practices to countries wanting to reinforce democratic values and institutions. I assisted with creating a brand for them that speaks to the importance of democracy and how we need to protect it before it is corrupted. The brand and Initiative were launched together at the 2022 OECD Global Forum and Ministerial on Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy.
Any branding project demands thorough research into the client and their audience, and this was no exception. The Initiative bears a complex offering which focuses on common misapprehensions about democracy and creating policies around these.
The client wanted the brand to simultaneously show democracy's strength and the Initiative's flexibility and agility. The key here was to make sure the images addressed the hopefulness of what democracy could look like in the future, rather than the issues that we are currently facing.
This project involved many layers of communication between various stakeholders which added to the challenge. The end product was displayed at the global Ministerial in front of delegates from all over the world to inspire hope and create a space where ministers were able to discuss the future of democracy.
Inspiration for the final marque came from experimentation. The brief required me to encapsulate something that is both flexible and at the same time strong and reliable, which had me thinking about water, which is agile in the way it flows but has the power to erode rock, changing entire landscapes over time. And so I began to play with brush strokes that captured this feeling.
Finding inspiration in the natural world has always been a key part of my process and work. With the client working internationally it was especially important for me to draw on nature for this particular project. It is something that can be enjoyed by, and has meaning to everyone, making it something that is able to connect us globally.
