The Circle: Fighting for feminism through strategic design

Does design really have the power to unite people, purpose and potential – to enable people to express exactly what they want to say and be who they want to be? We think so. In fact, we’ve built our agency around those simple, powerful values. But for some, being able to express what you believe in, or simply who you are – and be heard – is met with oppression and violence.

With Global Feminism as our guiding light, we used strategic design to celebrate diversity, amplify underrepresented voices and ensure inclusivity of anyone who identifies as a woman.

Since the dawning of time, women have come together to convene, commune, and collectively shape a shared future. And in 2008, one such gathering of women with Annie Lennox at the helm led to the creation of The Circle. From that moment, the organisation has provided the space for women to come together and engage in the subtle yet mighty process of change-making.

Since The Circle’s origins, cases of oppression and injustice towards women have come into sharp focus in the media. In turn, solidarity in action and new feminism movements have also evolved. It was time to put design to work in the positive development of global feminism, to be an active part of an equitable society.

The Circle needed to unite its growing global memberhood around a new focus – to end violence against women and girls and support the economic empowerment of women – and amplify their impact with an elevated identity worthy of a global outlook. While The Circle had already achieved a lot in its rich history, the only thing uniting its activism and accomplishments was its celebrity founder. In order to move forward and build its own united identity, it needed to cement a courageous standpoint – Global Feminism – distinct from other NGOs and charities in the space.

In a world where violence against women and girls is bleak, devastating and constant, it can be easy to feel helpless and overwhelmed when trying to answer the question “How can I help?”. As a result, the brand needed to provide tangible, positive actions and a vision of optimism around change.

The Circle – be that the organisation, or the space it creates for women and allies to convene and engage – is in its very nature fluid, evolving, shape-shifting and iterative. The brand needed to create a strong framework to hold this uniquely feminine space while creating the conditions for change in all its forms.

With a big hat tip to bell hooks, we crafted the brand language to centre the core motivation of The Circle and the belief of everyone in their community – that we should aspire to be Global Feminists, in solidarity and action. In this way, we address the root causes of gender inequality and fight for a fairer world.

Leading the identity are bold typographic statements – reflecting both the courage and the rallying cry of The Circle, while the custom typesetting conveys the amplification of women’s voices. Our representative image choices present subjects with dignity, while the circle becomes a prevalent graphic device symbolising the diversity of women’s voices as a collective in support of global feminism.

Not only has our work provided a bold identity for a necessary global feminism movement, we are also proud to say that our brand strategy has achieved industry-wide recognition, winning gold and bronze at Brand Impact Awards 2022, as well as being shortlisted for Design Awards 2022. You can see the UnitedUs partners Luke Taylor and Natalie Burns talk more about The Circle project in a conversation with Right Aligned here.

If you’d like to learn more about the strategy behind this brand communication or get to know more about our creative process, we’d love to talk to you. Drop us a line on 01273 684416 or jump into our inbox [email protected].