The Earth, with two drawn on speech bubbles showing a peace sign and a heart, as well as the UN logo.

UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Reference Book depicting the articles and background information.

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ILLUSTRATION

As a personal project, I decided to create my own illustrated version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as a way to explore the articles in more depth, but also to make the information more accessible for others. The information contained is relevant to everybody, especially for those who still have to fight for these rights to be honoured in their lives and countries.

Client:

United Nations (Personal Project)

Goal:

Create an illustrated guide book detailing the thirty articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for quick reference at home, work or in study.

References:

United Nations Website

Initial ideas and early layout ideas for the UN UDHR booklet.
Layout ideas and image plans for UN UNDHR booklet.

Inspiration

A black and white image of a raised fist, a sketch of it with drawn on handcuffs, and the completed version.

When starting this project I knew I wanted to establish a serious tone, since the inherent human rights described in this document are unfortunately not yet available for all people, as of the completion of this project. I came across this image of a raised fist in black and white, which I quickly began to imagine with sketched on elements, helping me develop the overall look of how the articles are represented in this document.

Components

A sample of the fonts Proxima Nova, Freight Text Pro, and Samantha, as well as three CMYK swatches, 70 36 0 0, 94 73 35 21, and 86 57 0 16.

Proxima Nova and Freight Text Pro were chosen for clarity and because they are complimentary to each other. Samantha provided an elegant and readable font for accent copy. The only colours used are shades of the blue used in the UN logo, the exact shade of which is on the above left.

An colour image of several hands lined up, with arrows pointing to a black and white version of the same image outlined in white pencil lines.

Each article image is in greyscale with white, sketched on elements. The goal was to keep the images as generic as possible, not showing faces, to communicate that the content is not for one group of people, but rather is representative of all people.

Providing for a Missing Demographic

An image of the original UN UDHR document, some of the text, and the cover of the illustrated version.

The full content of the UNDR, as well as the background information contained in my document, can be found on the United Nations website. There is an image of the official document drafted in 1948, and a PDF file of the text content. There is also an illustrated version on the site.

Illustration of a person bursting from an egg, the text of UDHR article one, and an illustration of two pairs of adult hands holding baby feet with a heart drawn on.

The illustrated version available is targeting a younger demographic. This is great, but it leaves a gap for users who are older but perhaps might still appreciate visuals to help contextualize some of the legal jargon in the document. My version is targeted towards an older demographic in tone, which covers a missing component of the available resources.

Final Results!

All thirty illustrations from the UN booklet on a grey background.
Thecover of the UN booklet on a grey background.
A spread of the UN booklet, showing the nine people who drafted it.
The UN booklet open to a spread showing text from article 27, and a man walking with graffiti wings drawn on.
View the full PDF document!