NOW: I STAND FOR THEM
EMPOWERMENT CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT SCHOOL BULLYING IN JAPAN
Now: なう is a social campaign plan that is designed to empower Japanese middle school students (12-14 years old) to stand up for the victims of school bullying. We crafted a tagline “Now, it’s time to stand up” and designed a visual identity based on it. Finally, we created collaterals such as poster, website and video to increase awareness.
PROJECT:GRADUATE RESEARCH
DATE:SEP 2017
LOCATION:KEIO UNIVERSITY, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MEDIA DESIGN, JAPAN
FIELD:SOCIAL DESIGN | BRANDING | SDGs | CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
CHALLENGE
HOW MIGHT WE EMPOWER MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN PREVENTING BULLY?
BACKGROUND
According to NHK World Documentary, only 1 out of 5 students in Japan stands up for bullying. Based on local data, as the school grade grows higher, the number of students who try to stop bullying is decreasing, and the number of bystanders is increasing. Furthermore, when compared to the UK and the Netherlands, Japan has the lowest rate of students acting as helpers among the three countries.
INSIGHT FROM A BULLY WITNESS
Research stated that peer intervention plays a great role in limiting bullying. However, when we interviewed the students, many confessed that they were afraid of being the next target of bullying, hence they chose to avoid speaking out. One Japanese student mentioned "If I have a 仲間 (comrade) to speak up together, then I will do it."
PROPOSED SOLUTION
NOW, I STAND FOR THEM SOCIAL CAMPAIGN AND SHARING PLATFORM FOR BULLY WITNESSES
VISUAL AND TAGLINE
We created a visual that is inspired by the word "NOW", なう in Japanese, which speaks of the urgency to take actions right at this very present moment. The visual combines an "eye" icon and a "microphone" icon inside the Japanese word of "NOW". It symbolizes the act of speaking out at the moment when one witnesses a bullying.
We also added a tagline "I stand for them" to encourage the action.
WEBSITE
We designed a website as a platform for students to (1) share their story, (2) connect with a community that provides guides and supports, and (3) find a buddy to encourage each other
CAMPAIGN VIDEO
We also created a campaign video that depicts a story of a witness of school bullying who decided to stand up to it and stop being a bystander.
CAMPAIGN POSTER
We also designed posters that could be put up around train station in Japan. The purpose is to spread the use of social media hashtag #なうI_Stand_For_Them when someone shares a story of him/her standing up to school bullying. We hope that this movement could encourage fellow witnesses to take action.