Humans Over
Human Trafficking
Campaign Concept Development | Design & Art Direction
The Collaborative to End Human Trafficking—a growing coalition of amazing people, organizations, and cities—wanted to generate awareness for, and encourage participation in, their movement.
But the truth is, people often feel helpless in the face of such a frightening global problem. And typical content, while well-intentioned, is too often rooted in darkness, fearmongering, and sometimes blatant inaccuracies.
So, we created Humans Over Human Trafficking, a bold and hopeful campaign focused on engaging, informing, and inspiring individuals to see that we can indeed take on this big, scary problem if we do it together.
A Shift From Fear To Hope
To support our goal of uniting communities and avoiding cliches, we created a high impact, uplifting visual system that champions survivors, communities, and supporters alike. We developed a high impact logo that serves as the foundation for the campaign and as a recognizable mark to encapsulate everything Humans Over Human Trafficking stands for. The mark plays on the double meaning of being both literally and figuratively “over” human trafficking in our communities while exuding a strong and dignified appearance.
Typical visuals in this space often show fearful, dark subject matter painting an inaccurate and harmful picture of human trafficking serving to marginalize survivors and alienate audiences. Instead, we use strong, unflinching, high-contrast black and white photography of proud survivors, community members, and supporters of the cause showing them not as fearful and helpless, but as hopeful and empowered. Colorful gradients serve as a universal overlay to unite survivors and supporters of the cause under one common treatment and one common goal.
Further shifting the message towards hope, we employ an empowering and inspiring voice set in contrasting sensitive and encouraging typefaces to differentiate from previous efforts in this space and compliment the campaign voice and goal.
Take the Pledge
To drive action, we invite people to “Take The Pledge”, supporting their community and becoming a true Human Over Human Trafficking. By taking the pledge, supporters commit to educating themselves, advancing the cause, and staying connected with the growing community.
As a hub for the campaign, we created a landing page that offers additional ways to get involved—with a striking visual reminder that no one is alone in this fight. A video was created to serve as both an educational piece and a far-reaching rallying cry. We created an accompanying booklet addressing some of the most common myths, sharing eye-opening statistics, and pointing to resources for those who need them. On social media, we debunk preconceptions and invite others to spread the word. While out of home will serve to reach a wider audience and start more important conversations.
It was an honor to do this work for such an amazing cause. We’re excited to think of the impact it could have on Northeast Ohio—and hopefully, the world.
