World Cancer Day

From the very beginning, the project followed a robust design process, commencing with a comprehensive research and discovery phase led by strategist Richie Meldrum.

Over 20 one-on-one research interviews were conducted with the UICC team and representatives from UICC’s member organisations around the world, including oncologists, NGOs, researchers, advocacy experts and scientific advisors and, of course, those with their own lived experience of cancer.

We designed and facilitated three unique workshop sessions, where we explored and analysed a range of topics, including audience segmentation, theme structure, brand architecture, use and engagement, success measurement and more.

The research and process led us to one universal truth - that cancer isnt just a medical diagnosis, its a deeply personal experience. Shaped by physical, emotional and situational differences, its unique to everyone involved. This insight drove the development of a theme territory centred around a people first approach to cancer, followed by the creation of the new three year campaign theme title ‘United by Unique’.

To bring the strategy to life, we undertook an in-depth brand exploration phase. Working closely with the UICC team and stakeholders, we decided on an approach that placed people’s individual cancer journeys and lived experiences at the heart of the campaign, therefore translating the strategy into a powerful creative presence.

Key priorities in the design phase included developing a brandmark system that worked seamlessly across different layouts, creating a cohesive colour palette that would tie the campaign back to UICC, and selecting a typeface (Fellix) that translated easily into different languages.

We also built out a comprehensive library of illustrations, iconography and photography that prioritised accessibility and licensing. People could access, adopt and adapt the campaign assets to create their own World Cancer Day material across countless digital and print applications including social assets, posters, toolkits, video and broadcasting.

World Cancer Day is for everyone. Our campaign created a flexible system anyone could adapt while maintaining strong visual impact—without requiring strict adherence to complicated guidelines.

The design system works effectively across diverse contexts, from urban billboards to simple printouts in rural health clinics. The theme "United By Unique" harnesses the universal power of language. Everyone has their own cancer journey and story, which led us to highlight the emotions experienced throughout that journey—whether as patients, loved ones, carers, or doctors.

This typographic approach enables easy translation while building emotional connections, creating something simultaneously global and deeply personal. The bold, coloured typography remains memorable, legible, and emotionally powerful.

The campaign features a circular brand device that frames individuals through striking profile imagery. This orange dot symbolises community, togetherness, and humanity. In physical form, it appears as an orange World Cancer Day microphone traveling globally, giving individuals a platform to share their stories.

While organisations and governments produce physical campaign materials, our focus on digital engagement (evidenced by billions of social media impressions) reflects a design approach that maximises exposure while minimising physical resources.

This thoughtfully designed campaign was successfully implemented worldwide, demonstrating that investing in professional design delivers significant returns.

The greatest challenge for the World Cancer Day campaign was creating something truly global and accessible that the world want to be involved in. This required rigorous testing of each campaign concept across different languages, cultures, and locations to ensure the brand remained relevant and engaging everywhere.

The innovation lies in putting the campaign directly into peoples hands, empowering them to tell their own stories. We designed a custom poster tool that allows website visitors to create personalised posters featuring their unique emotions and imagery.

Alongside this tool, we developed a comprehensive set of design templates in multiple languages for users to download, including toolkits, social media assets, posters, and logo lockups. These necessary tools enable people anywhere in the world to personalize their participation in World Cancer Day and make the campaign their own.

The true beauty of this campaign is seeing it used worldwide in creative and unexpected ways. From a design perspective, we embraced imperfection, recognizing that while user-created artwork might not always be perfect, what truly matters is the intent and engagement behind it.

The global impact World Cancer Day had in 2025 was profound, and over a 3 year period we expect this to grow exponentially. With 6 billion social media impressions, 9 million engagements, 530,000 website visitors, and 300,000 campaign video views, the 2025 campaign reach was substantial.

The initiative sparked 900 activities across 102 countries, collected over 600 personal stories, and generated 30,000 press mentions in 162 countries, demonstrating its worldwide influence and effectiveness in raising awareness about cancer.

Over 50 international monuments were lit up in the campaign colours, including; The London Eye (UK), Jet d’Eau (Switzerland) and KL Tower (Malaysia). Throughout the campaign we heard from leaders and celebrities such as: Emraan Hashmi, Kate Middleton and King Charles (British Royal Family), Kylie Minogue, FC Barcelona and The Nobel Prize Institution, making it a truly global initiative.

With Melbourne-based strategy and design teams leading an expansive campaign that touches every corner of the world, connecting humanity shows that Victorian creativity and design culture is well and truly at the forefront of global change.