Design Challenge and Design Ideas

One word represented the challenge: COVID-19. However, that one word, which has become such a familiar part of all our lives, doesn’t tell you about the 40% surge in calls to Women’s Aid, the 30% increase in frightened children calling ISPCC Childline or the 30% increase in domestic abuse call outs by the Gardai.

The pandemic proved that social isolation is far more dangerous for women and children living in the reality of abusive relationships. Trapped inside in unimaginable situations without the sanctuary of work, school or friends, we immediately knew we needed to help.

Our intent was simple: bring global attention to the rise in domestic violence and child abuse during the pandemic while raising much needed funds for the organisations fighting on behalf of the most vulnerable in our society. It was against this context that Creatives Against Covid19 was born.

At the height of the pandemic, in a world put on pause, we developed the brief calling on the creative industry to design and donate inspiring posters of optimism, resilience, and hope, that we would sell online raising vital funds for ISPCC Childline and Women’s Aid.

To reframe the crisis into something more hopeful, we chose the campaign theme ‘Soon’. This moment in our lives would not last forever. Soon we would be reunited with our families and friends. Soon all the things we enjoyed most would resume. Soon, the pieces of our lives would fall back into place.

In the 7 short days the brief was live we received over 1,200 submissions from over 30 countries. Within a week, we launched the online store going live with 1,278 prints for sale.

Our Instagram first campaign became an antidote to bad news, an explosion of colour and creativity, filling hearts and Instagram feeds across the globe with moments of hope, joy, and love. Within three weeks we had over 14,000 highly engaged followers who actively encouraged their networks to purchase.

As lockdown ended, we curated the biggest art exhibition of 2020 at the Guinness Storehouse titled Soon Is Now showcasing over 1,200 prints ensuring everyone that designed, or purchased, had free entry to experience what we collectively achieved under one iconic roof.

Most importantly, our creative community raised over €230,000 for ISPCC Childline and Women’s Aid.

How the brief was fulfilled

Creatives Against Covid-19 was a global campaign that called on the creative industry to design and donate inspiring posters of optimism, resilience, and hope, raising vital funds for ISPCC Childline and Women’s Aid. The campaign surpassed all our expectations, capturing hearts and minds across the globe. Over 1,000 posters, from over 30 countries, were designed and submitted within 7 days. Over €230,000 was raised helping vulnerable women and children at this difficult time.

Creatives Against Covid19 would simply not have been possible without our incredible collaborators at each stage of our journey.

Firstly our Creative Council, Shauna Buckley, Emma Conway, Sarah Doyle, Ryan Kavanagh, Fuchsia MacAree, Rory Simms and The Project Twins, for their energy, passion and drive.

Our print partners, Hen’s Teeth, who worked tirelessly throughout lockdown and always over-delivered the finest gallery quality prints that people are proud to have in their homes.

RDJ, Dentsu Aegis Network, Point Blank, PML, An Post, Dublin Bus– all Pro Bono partners who contributed massively to bringing our vision to life and delivering a message of hope and creativity in a world put on pause.

Guinness Storehouse for showcasing “SOON IS NOW; An exhibition celebrating global creativity, hope and love during lockdown.” Being able to experience the diversity of work and breadth of global and local talent under one iconic roof was magic.

ISPCC Childline and Women’s Aid for opening our eyes to what is happening in communities across Ireland, and for their invaluable inputs and guidance on this journey.