Today, just over two percent of electricians in Sweden are women. Combined with the low number of girls graduating from electrical and energy programmes, this makes the electrical industry one of the most male-dominated sectors in the country. The industry also faces a workplace culture that can at times be intolerant, exclusionary and sexist.
Upplyst is a joint initiative by the Swedish Electricians’ Union and the Swedish Installation Federation – bringing the two organisations together for the first time in a long-term effort to promote equality in schools and workplaces throughout the electrical industry.
Upplyst - Lighting the way towards equality
With two organisations behind the initiative, we needed to create a strong, independent identity that could unite them and work over time.
The symbol combines references to gender equality with the visual language of electrical diagrams, creating an immediate connection to the industry while expressing the idea behind Upplyst. The wider visual identity draws on the same world, using electrical symbols, graphic lines and bold, luminous colours to create a distinctive and energetic expression.
Client: Elektrikerna, Installatörsföretagen
Deliverables: Brand strategy, communication concept, campaign, website, film, TVC, social media content, events, PR.
A shared identity
Lighting the way forward
The film
The campaign films were built around a simple visual idea: darkness versus light. We first entered workplaces in darkness, revealing some of the attitudes and behaviours that still exist within the industry. As the lights came on, the same environments were transformed – bright, clean and free from sexism and intolerance.
The contrast gave the campaign a strong visual metaphor for the change Upplyst wanted to create: shining a light on the problems in order to move beyond them.
The films closed with the message:
“Together, we shine a light where it is darkest – and switch off sexism and intolerance. Help us create an equal electrical industry where we respect each other’s differences.”
