OVERVIEW: Finland and Russia are separated by a 1,340 kilometer-long border, Today, Finland’s eastern border is associated with growing prosperity and opportunities for cooperation on both sides. But strong clichés still exist.

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PROBLEM:  The Finnish National Agency for Education wanted to publish a flyer for encouraging Russian language learning at school. The positives sides of learning Russian had to be shown through pictures more than text. They had no extra budget for professional photographies or photostocks. Together with the client, we selected amateur images where Finnish and Russian 13–15-year-old students appear together. Cheburashka and Gena, two great classic characters of Russian culture, should be used but without breaching the copyright.

 

SOLUTION: After one first meeting with the brief, the style of the flyer was decided and I sent the first draft the following week. I worked remotely and the communication went well. I worked on the amateur pictures in order to harmonize their tone, calibrate, add sharpness and prepare them for print. I draw a new version of Cheburashka and Gena and managed to vivify selected (boring) photographies thanks to the integration of the characters into them. I added part of the Cyrillic alphabet. The result was a fresh and engaging tri-folds horizontal flyer. The Finnish National Agency for Education distributed it in Finnish secondary schools around the country. We plan a second edition.