Act Local to Go Global

World Cities Day is a social initiative led by UN-Habitat to encourage international interest in global urbanisation, push forward cooperation and contribute to sustainable urban development around the world. With the slogan ‘Better City, Better Life,’ each year World Cities Day selects a different sub-theme and a location for its global observance to address specific challenges resulting from urbanisation. Under the theme of ‘Act Local to Go Global,’ the global observance will take place in Shanghai this year on October 31st.

JWDK has been appointed by Shanghai’s Ministry of House and Urban-Rural Development for the fourth year to help raise public awareness of World Cities Day through a series of campaigns.

To highlight Shanghai’s leadership in World Cities Day and spark the local audience’s curiosity to learn more, JWDK created a set of vibrant and vivid illustrations by integrating visual metaphors that represent various aspects of each of five urban system pillars (Society, Environment, Economy, Culture, and Governance) proposed by the Global Urban Monitoring Framework.

The creative design is inspired by the idea of ‘Urban Hearts.’ ‘I❤SH’ is a ubiquitous phrase that everyone in Shanghai irrevocably resonates with. By using a simple and geometric style to illustrate both pillar topics and city buildings, the resulting visual evokes the imagery of Shanghai’s skyline tied into an iconographic heart shape. Each Shanghai heart is about visualising the small moments that make living in Shanghai special, as well as the very large efforts the city government is making to continually evolve the city forward in so many areas.

Our creative team has used specialist motion techniques to amplify the Shanghai urban lifestyle and how the government helps improve that life. Together, it creates an animated scene of the city we are proud of and call home. Each animated scene can be pulled out separately in driving engagement across various digital channels.

JWDK is proud to be an ongoing support and creative partner to contribute to the World Cities Day initiative, creating a positive social impact on the future of urbanism in China through the power of design!