Description
There are more than 20 million rare disease patients in China, with 200,000 new patients diagnosed yearly.
Despite these numbers, a rare disease patient still feels alone, especially in China, where decades of the one-child policy left unintended consequences.
For the Chinese, having a rare disease can be a sign that you are defective and a source of shame for patients and families. It’s the curse of being rare.
The result is that these diseases are not seen as legitimate and established diseases, and patients end up not having community support to overcome the stigma.
Working with Zhejiang University, we decided to change that. Based on its RDmap statistical database, we created the Identity Builder, a procedural art generator that turns scientific data about 5,500 rare diseases into unique visual identities.
Now, patients who once felt ashamed, invisible, and illegitimate can finally have a unique symbol to help them feel seen and can learn from it to create connections with other rare disease patients.
This professional campaign titled 'Identity Builder' was published in China and United States in January, 2025. It was created for the brand: Zhejiang University, by ad agency: Area 23. This Integrated medium campaign is related to the Health industry and contains 4 media assets. It was submitted 11 months ago.
Credits
Brand: Zhejiang University
Title: "Identity Builder"
Agency: Area 23, an IPG Health Company, New York
Chief Creative Officer: Tim Hawkey
Executive Creative Director: Josh Grossberg
Group Creative Director: Felipe Munhoz
Creative Directors: Diego Torgo / Sttenio Costa / Victor Afonso
Associate Creative Directors: Lily Liu / Matthew Sherring / Renan Bulgari / Diana Yeo / Justin Schlaffer
Agency SVP, Production Group Director: Chinkara Singh
Agency EVP, Executive Director Experience Design: Franklin Williams
Agency SVP, Technology Director: Bill Hanff
Agency VP, Director Experience Design: Mario Arias
Agency Senior Product Designer: Cliff Washington
Agency Product Designer: Liz Culton
Agency SVP, Creative Engineering Director: Aaron Stack
Agency Executive Director, Medical Strategy: Mike Lieberman
Production Companies: StudioRX, an IPG Health Company, New York / Shanghai Wanlong Cultural Communication Company, Shanghai
Executive Producer: Tom Sann
Production Company VP, Director Video Post Production: Conor OFlynn
Production Company Senior Video Editor: Megan Katuran
Production Company Associate Director, Animation: Christopher Romano
Illustration Company: Black Madre, São Paulo
Illustrator: Leandro Dexter
Illustration Company Creative Director: André Maciel
Illustration Company Head of Production: Laryssa Andrade
Illustration Company Production: Icaro Yuji
Illustration Company Executive Director: Tina Castro
Illustration Company Head of Planning: Le Alves
