Design like you give a damn.
What Design Can Do — Event design, Identity, Motion
The challenge
Establish What Design Can Do as a global movement that uses design to tackle major societal challenges. The initiative needed a bold, flexible identity that could unite its mission under one recognisable brand: urgent, action-driven and universally relevant.
The strategy
Create a minimal yet powerful graphic system built on just four elements: yellow, red, one typeface and a bold brushstroke. The simplicity ensures clarity and adaptability, while the boldness reflects the initiative’s call to action: Design like you give a damn.
The solution
The identity is instantly recognisable, in the Netherlands and abroad. Applied consistently, it has become synonymous with design-driven impact, proving that restraint and purpose can build a movement as powerful as the causes it champions.
Design festivals
To inspire creatives around the world, we produced multi-day design festivals in Amsterdam, São Paulo, Mexico City and Delhi. Custom festival brands and online, PR and out-of-home campaigns drew more than 15,000 design enthusiasts.
Design challenges
Beyond inspiring designers, we challenged them to help tackle society’s most urgent issues, such as climate change and the plight of refugees. Since 2016, more than 10,000 participants have joined the challenge programme. For each challenge, we developed a project brand and recruitment campaign under the WDCD umbrella.
Publishing
Through campaigns, PR and online and print publications, we brought WDCD’s message to a wider audience. The signature yellow always stands out, like a beacon in an oversaturated visual world.
