Wake up, the war has started

Context and research question

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine. The war continues to this day, with far-reaching consequences for millions of people.
The bachelor's thesis ‘Wake up, the war has started’ examines how war feels from an individual perspective, especially on the day of the invasion and during the flight. The aim was to create emotional closeness without over-staging visually.

Perspectives and design

The project focuses on the personal impressions of Ukrainian refugees, conveyed in narrative interviews. Their stories about their decision to flee, the moment of departure and their feelings of disorientation form the emotional backbone of the work.
The objects they brought with them (a perfume, an icon) play a central role. These objects were staged in a minimalist style and photographed against a monochrome background to emphasise their symbolic and sentimental value. The project was realised as a large-format newspaper in documentary style.
The use of print as a medium allows for depth, slowness and materiality in contrast to the fast pace of digital media. Helvetica was chosen for the body text and Monaco for analytical elements, creating a restrained and factual typographic framework.
The grid-like structure in newspaper style is broken up by deliberate white space, calm areas and subtle visual interruptions to visually pick up on the content.
Infographics such as escape routes and timelines were integrated in a reduced visual language limited to greyscale and a single accent colour. This allows for contextualisation without overwhelming the emotional core of the content

Access and plea

The combination of emotional storytelling and visual contextualisation creates accessible content for a wide audience – readable for those involved, those interested and those not involved.
Wake up, the war has started is a creative and substantive plea for empathy, differentiation and humanity in the debate on refugees. The visual language consciously supports this aim with restraint and clarity.
Due to my personal connection with Ukraine, this project became a deeply emotional affair for me. In the design, I felt it was important to work with respect, commitment and responsibility, without pathos, but with a clear point of view.