Powercube.net is a resource for understanding power relations in efforts to bring about social change. The Powercube was mainly developed by Professor John Gaventa, a political sociologist, educator and civil society practitioner.

Located on the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK IDS is one of the world’s leading organisations for international development research, teaching and communications.

The proposition:

Understand power to bring about social change

Customer segments:

NGOs and development agencies

Grassroots activists

Government agencies

Students and researchers

What we did:

We guided the IDS team through a process of interviews with individuals in order to create personas and scenarios that informed the whole design process of the project. This in turn fed into the identity and the creation of an animated visualisation of the three aspects of power that make up the Powercube.

The Powercube has a broad international audience with varied backgrounds so the identity required the widest possible appeal. English is a second language for many people who engage with the Powercube and with this in mind it seemed appropriate to graphically present the cube as part of the corporate identity.

We also designed flyers to be distributed by Gaventa during his frequent workshops and lectures around the globe.