UNICEF: Voices of Youth

A brand for the global citizens of tomorrow.

Brand Strategy, Visual Identity, Campaign Website, Print

Background

Voices of Youth is a UNICEF initiative that offers young people a safe online community to learn about and discuss global issues - human rights, poverty and education.

The challenge

UNICEF approached Hyperakt to give the Voices of Youth brand its very own voice. The new brand needed to strike the perfect pitch between credibility and youthful exuberance. It had to resonate with young people regardless of their age or cultural identity. And of course, it needed to speak to all of the world’s languages.

The opportunity

Hyperakt created a brand identity that was immediately accessible to young people around the world. The new Voices of Youth brand visually invites youth to share and connect about the critical issues impacting their lives. Vibrant, rich illustrations transcend language and cultural differences and clearly articulate everything the platform has to offer. The versatile new brand radiates with the optimism and openness UNICEF hopes to nurture in the global citizens of tomorrow.

A versatile system

We designed custom icons to identify key program areas. Distinct, colorful and instantly understandable, the icons represent the seven broad areas around which the site facilitates dialogue: Human Rights, Poverty and Hunger, Education, Environment, HIV/AIDS, Violence and Health. The icons work independently, locks up with the logo, and expand into patterns, allowing endless flexibility across print and web.

Universally engaging

The Voice of Youth logo needed to encourage free expression in a safe space, and to appeal to children of all ages in dozens of countries. We created a logo that allowed for all of this. By calling out the “V” and pairing it with a speech bubble, we allowed the brand to literally “ speak” to children. The speech bubble became the foundation of the brand architecture, allowing us to unify the many programs and subcategories on Voices of Youth's complex platform.

Expanding the program

After the Voices of Youth brand launched successfully, it expanded to encompass three new youth empowerment programs: Connect (which promotes communication between children), Citizens (which hosts a discussion of social media safety and ethics), and Maps (which gives children the tools to create interactive GIS maps of their communities and the world). Sustaining a strong relationship to the core brand, we maintained the speech bubble for each new program, and paired it with a unique icon, typographic lockup and color palette.

Creating a friendly environment

We created a unified language for each of the new Voices of Youth sub-brands that work within the overarching aesthetic but give each program a fresh look. We redesigned the Voice of Youth website to explain each new program with the help of friendly, illustrated banners. Each set of illustrations explores themes from the program, like digital journalism and community mapping, without condescending to the young reader. Soft textures and rounded forms help establish the platform as safe and accessible for all participants.