Actioning 1.8 billion young people

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PMNCH wanted to make the sizable youth and adolescent population in the world, totalling to 1.8 billion, become a force to reckon with, and one which could lead much-needed change by becoming empowered. Leading to the upcoming Global Forum for Adolescents, the challenge for the branding was to create not just a one-time event but a global movement that can carry the entire youth force forward. This became the seed for 1.8 Billion Young People for Change with the aim to make young people take ownership of their future and set the agenda for change.

Driving towards the GFA

The movement sets out to create young champions, who can speak, act and take their cause forward. It will shape all actions towards the The Global Forum for Adolescents in October 2023, where young people will get to interact with various heads of organizations and government leaders. Through varied programs and initiatives, youth and adolescents will be able to articulate their concerns and needs, which can lead to policy changes for their health and well-being.

A proactive brand strategy

Since the movement had to gather momentum with young people across the globe, a central concern was to find a brand strategy that would address diversity, and be attentive to local ways of thinking and living, while being inclusive to all. While many needs are common across the world — such as unintended pregnancies in girl children, rights and justice for young people, health and well-being for young people living in fringe areas — the strategy had to address the specificities of region.

The 1.8 logo and brand carries a sense of urgency, as well as a youthful air of purpose and immediacy. A special hand stroke was developed, which gives the brand its spontaneous aura. Handwriting represents individual character and this is a reminder of the importance of every young individual’s participation. The brand imagery uses hatching, patterns, and colours that celebrate the mood and energy of the younger generation with emphasis on being passionate, self-initiated, organized, and strategic. The slant of the 1.8 logo and its palette of colours speak about mobilising for change. The highly humanistic identity reaches out to youth and adolescents by making the brand accessible and moldable.

Creating context, being inclusive

The brand aims to bring young people across the world together to propel change and therefore, it has to be sensitive to local cultures, languages, flavours, beliefs, and habitual patterns of thinking and living. The brand language creates a culture of diversity that celebrates geographies and ethnicities. The written word through the stroke font has been designed for use in different languages and the handwritten elements combine with video, illustrations, local patterns, and city fabric to show inclusivity. The brand story also shapes around the actual targets to be achieved, through the five domains that come under the sustainable development goals. The messaging focuses on subjects ranging from sanitation to inclusive gender identities, safety and privacy to employability, to cover all aspects that impact young people's wellbeing in different ways.

This pluralistic design system with varying languages, regions, ethnicities, cultures, sexualities drives the 1.8 movement and enables its acceleration across the world, connecting with young people everywhere.

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