On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, displacing around a third of the population and forcing almost 6.9 million inhabitants to flee the country.

As the world looked on in shock and individuals desperately tried to envisage ways to help, we created a hard-hitting campaign to raise money for Unicef Ireland’s Ukraine Appeal. Unicef had boots on the ground, in blue dot centres and border towns surrounding Ukraine, and was able to quickly turn donations into food, first aid, water and warmth.

The visual idea for our campaign was simple, we examined the current state of play for children in Ukraine, by showing a young boy playing with his toy soldiers. However, instead of the boy commanding his toys, the soldiers turned on him and put him firmly in their crosshairs. The intentionally confronting image included some more subtle cues to Ukraine, including a sombre blue and yellow lighting grade.

As a pro bono campaign, this project didn’t just encourage donations, we felt it represented a powerful coming together of the Irish creative community in a time of need and solidarity.