Dew Gibbons beautifies academy

Dew Gibbons has designed an identity for Beauty Without Borders, a charity that aims to offer women in Afghanistan training in beauty and business skills in the aftermath of the country’s repressive Taliban rule.

Sponsored by Proctor & Gamble hair brand Clairol and make-up company Mac, the charity opens its first academy next week, offering a three-month beauty, hairdressing and business skills training course to an initial intake of 20 trainees.

‘Women already work in the beauty industry [in Afghanistan], it has always been a good business for them,’ explains Beauty Without Borders executive director Patricia O’Connor. ‘We hope to increase their level of education to empower them and improve their financial position, as well as their self-esteem and confidence.’

According to O’Connor, the charity plans to roll out the concept globally once processes have been refined.

The identity is a ‘visual analogy for Beauty Without Borders’, says Dew Gibbons designer Mark Wood, who worked on the project with director Steve Gibbons.

‘The butterfly suggests hope and transformation and links typographically, emotionally and metaphorically to the charity,’ Wood explains.

The identity incorporates ‘delicate’ typography, designed to appeal to women, but deliberately avoids specific Afghan references in favour of a ‘broader metaphor for beauty’, adds Wood.

The charity worked with a local, unnamed, female architect in converting a building in the Afghan Women’s Ministry for use as the training centre.