For Gdańsk City Hall, we developed the creative concept for the “Gdańsk. The City that Works” campaign. We brought different areas of the city’s activity together through a shared slogan and visual identity, featuring cartoons by Andrzej Rysuje. Our work covered the campaign’s teaser phase and designs for advertising in urban spaces and online.
Campaign concept
The environment, entrepreneurship, social issues and the day-to-day work of city officials each call for different messages. The campaign needed to present these areas coherently and encourage residents to take an interest in the city’s activities and the programmes available to them.
We proposed the slogan “Gdańsk. Miasto, które działa” (“Gdańsk. The City that Works”). It refers both to the city’s active role and to how it functions day to day. It provides a common framework for communicating different initiatives.
Humour rooted in everyday life
We invited the cartoonist known as Andrzej Rysuje to collaborate. Working from our brief, he created a series of illustrations commenting on topics central to the city’s communications. We combined his distinctive drawing style and light humour with headlines and colours assigned to each area.
The cartoons touch on residents’ relationships with city officials, urban greenery and social issues. Everyday situations provide a starting point for talking about specific actions taken by the city.
Campaign materials and advertising formats
We divided the communications into a teaser phase and the full campaign. Teasers featuring the unfinished line “Gdańsk, miasto, które…” (“Gdańsk, the city that…”) preceded materials developing the central idea and individual themes.
We prepared key visuals and designs for bus ads, backlit outdoor displays and posters, as well as graphics for online use and the city’s website. The shared slogan, illustrations and colours form a system that can be adapted to a short message in an urban space or more detailed information online.
