A BRAND THAT SPEAKS
Since 2018, we’ve partnered with Reykjavík Global Forum to build a brand that puts voices first and brings change within reach for thousands of women. Their purpose is to turn knowledge into impact by bringing global leaders together and transforming ideas into action.
        To express that, we shaped their identity around voice, using quotation marks as the core symbol – literally representing the influential voices that start conversation. Then, in 2023, we refreshed the design system with a purple, mint and ice-blue palette, and flipped the speech marks into people, so the identity reflects the purpose it serves.

BACK TO THE BEGINNING
On October 24, 1975, 90% of Iceland’s women walked out of work to protest workplace discrimination, the gender pay gap and the devaluing of domestic labour. Without them, Iceland ground to a halt: schools closed, factories fell quiet, and some fathers had to bring their children to work.
        Led by the Red Stockings, an Icelandic feminist group, and carried by letters, postcards, flyers, phone trees, radio, song, TV and door-to-door organising, the peaceful strike filled Reykjavík with rallies and lit a global fuse.
        The result was catalytic: it helped spur equal-rights legislation, paved the way for Vigdís becoming the first woman in the world to be democratically elected president, and laid foundations for later progress in childcare and parental leave. Today, women hold nearly half of the nation’s top seats – powerful proof that speaking up, mobilising and acting can create meaningful change.

MAKE HISTORY MOVE
Our task was to celebrate and commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kvennafrídagurinn, share Iceland’s blueprint, and dare the world to follow – through a campaign that could travel beyond Reykjavík and into everyday life.

DEAR SHE
In 1975, the movement spread through words people could hold—letters, newspapers, posters and songs. That human, hand-to-hand power still cuts through, even amid digital noise.
        Our idea drew on the movement’s language – a letter – flipping ‘Dear She’ into ‘Dare She’ – a shift from courtesy to courage, and a nod to the line “But I dare, I can and I want!” from Áfram Stelpur, the protest’s main song. Speech and the spoken word sit at the heart of the system, so the campaign looks like it sounds – from page to stage.

WE DARE, YOU DO.
From this idea, we launched the global campaign ‘Dare We’ and built the Dare We generator – a creative-coding tool that lets anyone type their own message and instantly create a personal, shareable asset. Users can choose formats, colours and hand-drawn illustrations from the RGF toolkit, then publish directly from the RGF site to social.
        We crafted a bespoke headline font inspired by the 1975 posters, a left-aligned masthead that reads like a letter, and a flexible grid that behaves like a page. Photography leans into a punk-retro duotone aesthetic, with confident, candid women front and centre. Handmade cut-paper illustrations echo the original protest art, while the 50th anniversary mark and RGF logo appear together to unite campaign and community.
        Partnering with our PR specialists at Burson, we also helped RGF develop a social strategy and content plan that drove strong engagement across LinkedIn and Instagram.