2020 World Refugee Day Emoji

In collaboration with the UNHCR and Twitter (now X), I designed a unique emoji for World Refugee Day. The emoji was visible across the platform, contributing to raising global awareness about the refugee issues.

The goal of this project was to create a symbol that would resonate with the global community, representing solidarity, hope, and support for refugees. The emoji was used by millions during World Refugee Day discussions on Twitter, bringing attention to the stories and challenges of refugees around the world.

As the designer of the emoji, I was responsible for:

• Understanding the message UNHCR and Twitter wanted to convey and translating it into a visual symbol,
• Creating a simple yet powerful image that was optimized for social media use, ensuring clarity and impact at small sizes, &
• Incorporating symbolism that speaks to unity and hope, while remaining sensitive to the nuances of refugee experiences.

© Roberto Valussi / UNHCR

After researching various symbols of hope and unity, I decided to focus on one of the most universally recognized symbols of compassion: hands. To reflect the diverse nature of the global refugee community, I designed the emoji using hands of different skin tones, representing solidarity across cultures.

I explored three versions of the concept, each emphasizing different aspects of the hands' interaction.

The final version, which was accepted by UNHCR and Twitter, features the hands forming a heart shape with negative space in the center, symbolizing love and unity. The negative space heart became a key element, conveying a powerful message through simplicity and inclusion.

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