Shakti Man
I worked with Shakti Man, one the largest and most celebrated independent Fair Trade retailers in the British Isles between 2020 and 2022, leading the development of their communication strategy and campaigns, through both social media and print design.
Based on the Isle of Man, but part of a huge global community, Shakti Man was a demonstration in how beautiful, artisan and innovative products and clothing can be part of the solution to some of our world’s biggest humanitarian and planetary issues.
My role was to help share, promote and create engagement in the amazing stories behind brands, products and organisations that they supported, all of which were focussed on pioneering in the fields of sustainability, regeneration, equality and the Fair Trade movement.
I developed content and visual identities for many campaigns, including for Plastic Free July, Fashion Revolution Week and Fair Trade Fortnight. I also created in-house educational campaigns for many topics around the themes of sustainability in fashion, social and environmental justice and circular and zero waste economies, to name a few.
I used the power of visual storytelling to communicate otherwise complex and challenging subject mater in ways that were engaging and uplifting to their audiences, utilising my skills an a designer, writer, illustrator, comics artist and photographer to produce elegant content that could be rolled out via both social media and print.
I also created work for Shakti Man to fulfil their needs as a retailer in the form of gift vouchers, loyalty cards, product tags and shop signage, combining both functionality and their spirited ethos through the designs.
“The nicest Fair Trade shop in the British Isles!”
- Jo Fairley, Founder of Green & Black’s Chocolate
Print Design: Vouchers
Print Design: Vouchers
Print Design: Loyalty Cards
“Ali was employed as a freelance creative for several years to develop, implement and deliver a design strategy, brand identity and social media presence for our eco store on the Isle of Man. Once Ali joined us, she worked attentively, with great awareness, sensitivity and understanding of our needs, both in sharing an important people and planet message - as well as helping to grow our fair and organic business model.
Ali achieved great results for us. She always understood the essence of what we were offering, and why we did what we did - and to have finally found someone in the creative industry who could mirror that passion was not only a relief, but a real joy from the outset. She is tirelessly working towards a more consciously considered approach and to bring true sustainability to the forefront, so I have no hesitation in recommending her services to organisations with a flare for the creative, stories to tell and lives to change.
Ali is making a real difference and I am humbled to acknowledge and endorse the important creative role that she is playing within the great turning that is happening on our planet today.”
Leni Landon, Founder, Shakti Man
Plastic Free July
A print and social media campaign to celebrate Plastic Free July 2022, commissioned by Shakti Man to educate the public about the growing problem of single-use and micro-plastics, along with some of the solutions that are available to consumers.
Human Rights and Fair Trade
The following is a selection of social media posts educating the public around the challenges of consumer culture and its effect on humanitarian issues. The aim was to also show how the products stocked by Shakti Man are directly combating these issues through supporting artisans and growers via the Fair Trade movement.
The Problem With Plastic
Below are a small selection of social media posts that were created to demonstrate some of the issues surrounding plastics entering our ecosystems (and economy) and what we can do about it.
Fast Vs Slow Fashion
A mini social media comics series as part of an educational campaign for Fashion Revolution Week, 2021. The purpose of the series was to educate the public about the difference between fast and slow fashion. Scroll to read the whole comic!
Refugees
A digital comic commissioned by Shakti Man to demonstrate what they were doing as an organisation to help with the current global refugee crisis, though for example, stocking products from MADE51 who are backed by the UN Refugee Agency and help support displaced people to create high-quality artisan products that can generate the income that they so urgently need to support their families.
