Elizabeth Bawol: How Strategic Creative Advances the Mission of Planned Parenthood

Designing for a cause. Image courtesy of Planned Parenthood.

Elizabeth Bawol has a passion for social justice and great storytelling. During her career, she has shaped strategy for Amnesty International, Peace Corps, and Planned Parenthood, where she is currently the Senior Creative Director. “The power creators have is to show the heart of, and truth behind, a cause or an organization,” says Bawol. “When  you're fighting for something powerful and real, that shines through. People listen, engage, respond, and shift their thinking.”

Bawol’s creative work has spanned political and advocacy efforts in Belgium, France, Germany, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Honduras, Vietnam and China, as well as across the U.S. And yet her current role comes with unique challenges—groups that vocally oppose, and even miscast, Planned Parenthood’s mission. 

Here, Bawol discusses how her 12-person team advances the mission of Planned Parenthood, how they tell authentic and true stories, and what makes for effective social activism.

“People like to paint us as one thing or another, but we have the strong vehicle of  truth on our side,” says Elizabeth Bawol. Image courtesy of Bawol.

How do you use design to advance the mission of Planned Parenthood?

I make sure that we're clearly communicating exactly who we are, which is someone that advocates for, and provides, health care. Planned Parenthood provides essential health care. People turn to us for information they need, and often at times when they may feel really vulnerable—they’re coming in for a cancer screening or for STI testing or their first birth control prescription. We're a provider that allows people to make decisions for themselves. We provide care and information, don’t judge and allow people to come to their own conclusions and decisions about who they are and the lives they want to live.

There’s so much misinformation out there about sexual and reproductive health. We’re the place you can turn to in order to get the information you need to make decisions for yourself. 

From a brand perspective, how do you reaffirm “health care provider?”

People like to paint us as one thing or another, but we  have the strong vehicle of  truth on our side. As often as possible, we try to let patients tell their stories as to who we are and what we do. There is a lot of noise in the world, and we try to keep it simple and clear and meet people where they are. And it does get through. Especially because for so many people, they already have a really personal relationship with us. Politicians may say one thing, but most everyday people know us as the place they turn to for health care when they needed it. 

What’s the driving ethos of the creative team? 

It’s amazing working in a place where everyone has such a personal attachment. What unifies us is this belief that strategic, authentic creative is a powerful tool for social change. We believe individuals have power and actions have ripple effects. Our creative can be the vehicle to get people to listen and take action. Another part we all firmly believe is that people need to see themselves in the creative works. It has to speak emotionally and visually to the audience. We use those parameters to set the guardrails and make sure we're doing what we're doing right.

Planned Parenthood's UNSTOPPABLE CAMPAIGN featured artist partnerships. Featured here: "My Body is My Own" created in partnership with Cynthia Hill and Tanya Selvaratnam.

Take us inside the thinking behind your new brand campaign, “Be Seen.” 

We have a lot of people who know us, but they don’t know our whole ethos and reason for being. “Be Seen” puts a focus on our overall mission and values, not just the many services we offer. It’s about encouraging young people to take care of themselves and get their health care from a provider who truly sees them for who they are and how they identify. What we are saying is, at Planned Parenthood, we see you—the whole you—no matter who you are, how you identify, or where you come from. We're proud to help you live fully, come into your own, and become all you can and will be.

We also know that a lot of Black and Latinx young people have been misunderstood or mistreated by those meant to provide care. So, this campaign is about telling the story about who we are and making sure people know this is a safe place for them to go to receive care, compassion, and all that we do offer.

Planned Parenthood's BE SEEN CAMPAIGN created in partnership with Virtue Worldwide.

Is there a secret sauce behind how your team creates? 

As much as possible, we throw all the words at the wall that fit with the tone of a campaign or strategy. Knowing where our audience is is a big piece, orienting in that place, and then starting with the tone, the emotion that we're tapping into there. Otherwise, creative brainstorms can go all over the place if you’re not centered in meeting audiences where they are. Then you can make all the decisions about color, style, creative treatments—all of that falls under the core centering of  the audience.

From your view, what makes effective social activism?

The strongest, strategic creative speaks to an audience because the audience sees themself in it and relates to it. The strongest creative is a mirror back. People will believe what you're saying and what you're trying to communicate if they see themselves in it and relate. People can really only hear if you have a sense of where they are.

If you could share something about your work with the design community, what would you say?

Being able to brand, design, and clearly communicate are not superficial skills. They are important for social change. No one can hear a cluttered message and no one can respond to an action that is unclear. Having the power to translate important topics for audiences is a superpower. Don’t underestimate the power of strategic, creative design and storytelling skills as tools for social change. 

What's the biggest surprise about your work at Planned Parenthood? 

I've been amazed at how things based in freedom can be so attacked and have so many opponents. I've never worked anywhere where there are people outside the organization who are organized to mislead about who we are and what we do. That’s been an amazing challenge. It makes us work harder, be more careful, authentic and honest, and ultimately hope that the truth wins out.

Is this your life’s work?

Yes. I am at my best when my heart is in a cause or campaign. And the good news is there are a number of causes that I care deeply about and that are so important to equity and social justice.

If you’d like to read more from The Creative Factor—such as Morten Bonde’s story about reinventing himself as a LEGO Art Director while losing his sight or how U.S. soccer star Tobin Heath uses her art to drive social change, sign up for our newsletter.