THE UNSEEN

WEEK 7

With all the attention on violence against women in Belfast, I was reminded of a powerful campaign I came across called UNSEEN, created to support women’s rights in North Korea. The campaign was designed by the team at Pentagram, who developed the name, messaging, and full visual identity, bringing an urgent and striking voice to a largely overlooked issue.

Women in North Korea face extreme levels of violence, forced labour, and systemic poverty. Over the last decade, they have accounted for more than 80% of North Koreans fleeing to South Korea, highlighting both their vulnerability and resilience. Pentagram’s approach to the UNSEEN campaign sought to communicate this tension visually and emotionally, ensuring the experiences of these women could be felt and acknowledged internationally.

Central to the campaign is a bold red dot, placed over the faces of each portrait of a North Korean woman. The symbol operates on multiple levels: it reflects pain, silence, and the concealment of their suffering, while also referencing violence, functioning as a “bullet point” in the most literal and metaphorical sense. The red evokes both blood and the Korean flag, and while it covers the women’s faces, it still allows viewers to connect with their gaze, creating a sense of intimacy and confrontation.

The campaign was brought to life across New York City, appearing on billboards in Times Square and 68 Manhattan newsstands. These placements amplified the voices of women whose experiences have long been invisible, transforming silence into a visually arresting statement. UNSEEN is not only a call for awareness but also a call for action and solidarity, demanding recognition of suffering that has been historically ignored.

Pentagram’s design successfully combines clarity, emotion, and activism, demonstrating how visual identity can carry enormous social weight. By turning the hidden lives of North Korean women into a powerful, confrontational visual statement, UNSEEN ensures their stories are finally seen.