Homeless Fonts
Arrels Fundacio
Issue 33 | December 2014
Agency
Cyranos McCann Barcelona
Creative Team
Creative President Leandro Raposo Executive Creative Director Pablo Colonesse Creative Directors David Ferna´ndez Joaqui´n Espagnol Art Directors Oscar Amodia Eduard Cubel Alejandro Garci´a Copywriters Marc Sa´nchez Jaume Rufach Nil Murtra
Production Team
Production Manager Alba Riart Joana Filella Post Production Alba Camps Director Javier Navarro Executive Producer Olga Duerto
Other Credits
Head of Strategic Planning Oriol Bombi´ Account Director Marta Grasa Account Executive Laia Gilibets
Date
March twenty fourteen
Background
Fundacio Arrels was a charity in Barcelona, which had cared for the homeless since nineteen eighty seven.
They wanted to raise awareness about social exclusion and to attract donations.
Idea
The rights to use any typographical font had to be paid by someone at some stage. Every ad, poster, pack and mailing featured typefaces that were worth money.
So the idea was to take the hand-written characters with which the homeless wrote their signs and make new fonts from them.
In a series of workshops, ten homeless people did various typographical exercises. Their alphabets were scanned and converted into typefaces. These were sold at www.homelessfonts.org for brands to use
in their advertising and corporate messages. Visitors could also download an app which allowed them to use the fonts to personalise what they wrote in their social networks. They could also get to hear the personal stories of the people behind the fonts.
The money earned went to the author of the font through the Fundacio´n Arrels.
Results
Over two hundred thousand people visited the website. There were over thirty thousand downloads of fonts.
Loraine's typeface was used by wine and country products brand Valonga for its packaging.
Thirty seven percent more funds raised.
Our Thoughts
There are so many things about this campaign to like. First of all it doesn't set out to pluck the heart strings like a harp Through the videos on the website or on YouTube it invites you to admire the strong personalities involved rather than to pity them.
More than that, the whole idea is about identity, On the streets, homeless people become invisible but this idea celebrates their individuality, It really does make you think, there but for the grace of God go I.
It allows the dispossessed to earn money through their own efforts rather than get it in handouts, It gives them dignity, And you get the clear impression from the videos that dignity is more valuable to them than anything.
By the way, we have used Guillermo on these pages.