It is known that more than 800 million of the world’s population menstruate each day. However, across the globe many areas lack support from education systems, water supply, sanitation, pain relief methods, product design and simply affordability and accessibility. This is often due to menstruation being recognized as a cultural taboo. Although, menstruation is a normal, healthy part of life, many are still ostracized, shamed or even excluded, ultimately harming their health and overall well-being. Menstrual health has a major impact on gender equality and access to equal opportunities. As a result, we’ve partnered with D&AD New Blood Awards and The Case for Her to answer, “How can we end the social stigmas surrounding menstruation around the world?”
The Competition
Our partner for the D&AD New Blood Award is The Case for Her, an innovative funding collaborative that invests in early stage markets within women’s and girl’s health to put capital into underfunded and underrepresented areas, including menstruation and female sexual pleasure. By applying design to this topic, we can approach the problem with a unique and refreshing perspective. The award is open to students, grads and young creatives age 18-24. In this process, our hope is to improve the lives of millions around the world by having applicants develop a product, service or campaign that:
- tackles menstruation issues and social stigmas
- is grounded in solid research
- shows refreshing and innovative thinking on a global scale
This year’s jury includes a mix of people from around the globe that are influencing the space, including Nick Whiting. Design Director, McKinsey Design and Gerda Larsson, Managing Director and Co-Founder, The Case for Her.
End the Stigma, Period.
As part of the process, our various design teams in London, Milan, Stockholm, and Berlin hosted an “End the Stigma. Period.” event to help applicants think through our brief. We ran a series of design sprints to hear from industry experts, meet our team and to answer questions about our brief. The challenge of the day explored creating solutions to help parents communicate with their children about period issues. This allowed for great conversation and a fluid discussion amongst entrants.
Changing the way the world thinks about menstruation is vital to society. We are looking forward to reviewing all the entries. If you’re interested in applying, make sure to submit your application by March 20th!
