How can we really understand what it means for 12,000,000 people in East Africa to be at risk? It's a well known fact that we relate more easily to one person's story than to large, inconceivable numbers. But the fact remains that this crisis isn't about one or two stories and we need to find ways to connect to it that go beyond the lens of individual experiences.
This lovely video put together by Jonas Skafte shows how Wolf Olins set about communicating the sheer scale of the number 12,000,000 as part of their 50/50 project.
Yelena Ford, brand strategist at Wolf Olins, says:
"We also wanted to raise awareness around the building for the cause. Not satisfied with the brief to create a humble poster for the Appeal, our whizzy design intern, Jonas Skafte, decided to create an installation for our space on canal side to really bring home and communicate what 12,000,000 people actually means; the incredible scale of the situation. Each uniquely coloured dot represents someone at risk from the crisis - all at risk of disappearing forever. In fact, not even our offices are big enough for 12 million dots…"
The 12,000,000 people project aims to raise money for famine relief by holding in office lunches where everyone is encouraged to donate money towards the cause, as well as placing a collection box in the office kitchen. All funds will be matched by the companies who share the office space: OMD, Wolff Olins, Doremus and Bernard Hodes.
We'd love to see other agencies pledge to take on this same challenge for a month and help scale it up to raise some serious money. Interested?