Equalize

Digital consultancy Ghost Partners and New Zealand Story commissioned me to help develop the brand for a women’s speaker series that would launch as part of the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™. I worked on the initial pitch, which drew speakers including Natalie Portman, Dame Jacinda Ardern, and Dame Valarie Adams. I was then asked to design and write the brand guidelines, presentation materials, and destination website.

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Client

NZ Story for Ghost

Year

2023

Services

Creative Concept

Art Direction

Copywriting

Harnessing a global event to build a platform

EQUALIZE has been designed and produced by the New Zealand Story Group to showcase New Zealand’s role in driving gender equity globally. It was made possible thanks to funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as part of its efforts to raise the profile of women and girls in sport and wider society following the co-hosting of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™.

In addition to a diverse list of keynote speakers, including Hollywood screen creative, activist, and football enthusiast Natalie Portman; former Prime Minister DameJacinda Ardern; FIFA General Secretary Fatma Samoura; and Black Ferns star Ruby Tui, the stellar lineup for 2023 included sporting legends Dame Valerie Adams,2022 World Rugby Player of the Year Ruahei Demant, and Paralympian Holly Robinson. Becca Roux, the Executive Director for the US Women’s National Soccer Team Player Association and a driving force behind the pay equity deal for US female footballers; Angel City FC President Julie Uhrman; Oscar-nominated producer and award-winning filmmaker Chelsea Winstanley; New Zealand creatives Michele A’Court, Georgia Lines, Robinson, and Bic Runga; entrepreneur Theresa Gattung; three-hatted chef Monique Fiso; and esteemed Washington Post journalist Anna Fifield.

It was crucial for the EQUALIZE brand to sit comfortably alongside the established New ZealandStory Group brand and the Eyes On NZ brand under which the event would fall(also designed by me in collaboration with Ghost Partners). The design concept was simple—reorganise the framing device from the Eyes On NZ logo to create a football goal and a whole new logo. Distinctive but part of the family.

As the ongoing stewardship of the brand would fall to New Zealand Story’s internal marketing and communication teams, the brand also needed to be well-articulated and easy to create using a range of production tools, from Adobe to PowerPoint to Canva to Figma.