Don't be a Man
The Don't Be a Man project is an ongoing, long-term initiative where I collaborate with a large team, leading the design direction to support its ambitious mission and evolving impact. For the past three years, I have been working as a graphic designer and art director on a project for the HeForShe division of the United Women, dedicated to promoting gender equality in Central Asia. The initiative was created to engage the public in meaningful conversations about equality, with a particular focus on reaching men.
In patriarchal societies like Central Asia, men often hold greater influence, making it essential to address them directly in discussions about gender equality. With this in mind, we developed the "Don’t Be a Man" campaign, challenging traditional stereotypes and encouraging men to redefine masculinity in a way that supports equality. Below is a deeper look into our campaign concept.
The Challenge
The key challenge in this project was finding a way to communicate effectively with men, capturing their attention without triggering resistance or misinterpretation, especially among those who fear losing traditional societal values. Our goal was to engage in a conversation that resonates rather than alienates.
The HeForShe Central Asia campaign, launched in November 2022, has since reached approximately 20 million people.
The campaign involved complex activities, including planning, testing, and the creation of research tools. We conducted 30 in-depth interviews with activists, media representatives, and entrepreneurs. Based on the collected data, we developed a comprehensive communications strategy, including scenarios for branding, advertisements, and the overall brand identity.
• A series of four short films was created under the theme “Our Family – Our Traditions. We Create Them Ourselves.”
• Additional initiatives included a comic book that addressed harmful stereotypes and encouraged men to rethink outdated gender roles, and a podcast where men spoke to men about gender equality, redefined masculinity in Central Asia, and discussed what it meant to be a man in the 21st century.
The campaign received tremendous engagement from the audience, with thousands of likes, comments, and discussions, demonstrating that we successfully spoke their language and delivered our message.
My Role as a Designer & Art Director
This project has been a significant challenge and achievement for me. Balancing global branding guidelines with local cultural nuances, I developed a localized design system for social media managers, designers, and video production teams across five countries, each with its own language and unique alphabet. The most complex part was ensuring the visual and narrative consistency across these diverse regions while maintaining cultural sensitivity and impact.
We submitted the “Don’t Be a Man” campaign for various international awards and received several nominations and accolades. Here are the recognitions we achieved:
1. Epica Awards – Silver Award in the Public Interest – Gender Equity category for the "Don’t Be a Man" project. (Issued December 2024)
2. Jolbors Festival Awards – Recognition for "Don’t Be a Man" and "Do Not Forget Your Way Home". (Issued September 2024)
3. White Square Creative Festival – Silver Award in the Gender Equality category for the HeForShe project with UN Women. (Issued June 2024)
1. Epica Awards – Silver Award in the Public Interest – Gender Equity category for the "Don’t Be a Man" project. (Issued December 2024)
2. Jolbors Festival Awards – Recognition for "Don’t Be a Man" and "Do Not Forget Your Way Home". (Issued September 2024)
3. White Square Creative Festival – Silver Award in the Gender Equality category for the HeForShe project with UN Women. (Issued June 2024)
I am incredibly grateful to the entire team for their contributions:
CEO – Tidam: Ainura Umaeva
Creative Director: Denis Eliseev
Experts: Maya Akisheva, Madi Mambetov, Natalya Sludskaya
Operations Director: Natalya Shorokhova
Account Manager: Tomiris Subbotina
Marketing Manager: Albina Agapova
UN Women Manager: Assem Satmukhambetova
Director: Radik Eshimov
Creative Copywriting: Assel Iskuzhayeva
Designer and Art Director: Assem Kiyalova
Thank you all for your incredible work!
HeForShe Central Asia Comics Book: https://eca.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2025/03/hefor-she-central-asia-comics-book
Youtube channel HeForShe Central Asia: https://www.youtube.com/@heforshecentralasia
Instagram accounts:
