Background

AD Media were approached by the Ugandan Refugees of Australia group in the process of planning the 50th anniversary celebration since the arrival and establishment of the Ugandan community in Australia.

These were the individuals affected by the attempted ethnic cleanse of South Asian people in Uganda by Idi Aman in 1972.

The Challenge

The group wanted to produce a legacy book that showcased the experiences of Ugandan victims. AD Media was approached because of our experience in working in print graphic design and execution.

The budget was limited, and we were working with a small collective of individuals. The stories were being written by non-writers, there was no professional editor and the group wanted guidance as to graphic and print design best practice.

The group had no branding identity apart from a logo designed specifically for the live event.

We were also required to provide additional live event and poster design support.

The client wanted a specific book size, A4 with a hard cover which with a limited budget we had to provide.

The challenge was to create a body of work that could be distributed within and strengthen the community through authentic stories and experiences of Ugandan refugees who had created a new life for themselves in Australia, after being forced to leave their country.

The goal was for this book to inform, entertain, reflect, and celebrate the remarkable achievements and celebrate Ugandan refugee Australian experiences.

Graphic design played an integral role in bringing together varying elements to create a memorial book that reflected the community visually as well as from a storytelling perspective.

Solution

As the project manager AD Media was responsible for delivery and day to management of the project.

To bring this legacy memorial book to life, AD Media considered the colours used in the logo, the cultural heritage, and colours of the Uganda flag, retraining the integrity of storyteller voices, newspaper clippings and relevant images not always supplied in a print ready from to create a book that would reflect the personality of the community.

The result was the creation of a legacy book that was shared within their community, the Maritime Museum and the international Ugandan refugee communities in the UK and Canada.

Results

The response to the book was extremely positive.  Over 200 copies were initially printed and sold with a web version created for international sales and, additional soft copy books were printed.