Facing Darkness: What Art Can Do

Light will triumph over darkness.

When the alarming reports and horrific images of the Russian invasion of Ukraine first appeared, we weren’t ready. Witnessing the human cost of war in a free and sovereign country was shocking, and like so many around the world, we felt powerless.

It was right about then that a longtime design colleague of Executive Creative Director Chris Cacci pointed her to Creatives for Ukraine. This open platform website was started by three Lithuanian design firms for the global creative community to collect visual representations of the war, fight fake news, and express solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

“We work exclusively with mission-driven organizations every day,” says Chris. “So this was a natural way to use our talents to show our support for Ukraine and help process our own emotions at the same time.”

CreativesforUkraine.com, according to its open letter to the world’s creative forces, “was created to amass digital art and illustrations that can draw attention to difficult subject matter, help express feelings and share the truth for the world to see.”

The art is collected and shared in a digital, public gallery for access by members of the media, nonprofit organizations, and other noncommercial institutions to communicate about the war and its impact on the people of Ukraine.

Our Lipman Hearne creative team, led by Chris, including designers and art directors Raul Peña, Nina Andorf, and Ruta Daugavietis; UX lead Andrew Ortolano; and copywriter Tom Fitzjerrells, jumped into brainstorming with open hearts, sharing feelings and trading personal thoughts. The process proved to be therapeutic, and some provocative and powerful concepts emerged.

“Our conversations inspired me to think about my home garden,” says Nina. “No matter the conditions, life always finds a way to grow toward light. It’s a simple, hopeful concept that can help all of us as we look for a source of hope in this very dark situation.”

This was a deeply personal project for the team. After much debate, we decided to share this post because we experienced such a positive effect—from working on ideas and from absorbing the contributions of creative people all over the world—that we thought others could help and benefit too.

We are proud to lend and share our creative talents in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

Lipman Hearne submissions:

Graphic of blue circles over black background with "light will triumph over darkness"
Light Will Triumph Over Darkness
Graphic of sunflowers with text in Ukranian
Light Can’t Be Conquered
Graphic of "compassion" and "sovereignty" with blue and yellow tears
Tears of Ukraine

Mobile Downloads:

You can click on the titles of the designs below each horizontal image to download a desktop wallpaper and/or below a vertical image for mobile backgrounds. Share with a friend and let them know we’re all in this together.