Responses by Guillaume Roukhomovsky, senior designer, 72andSunny Amsterdam
Background: Behind the Source is an awareness campaign launched by HackYourFuture, a coding school for refugees, that aims to reframe the conversation around refugees, and tackle the many misconceptions and prejudices that shadow their potential when it comes to applying for a job. The campaign consists of seven portraits that have been hidden in the source code of the online homepages of companies, such as eBay and Accenture, where HackYourFuture graduates now work. To find the portraits, users can go on these websites and click “View Source” to discover the portraits hidden in the code, and read the journeys of those who went from refugees to employees. We hope that shining a light on these exceptional human stories will inspire more recruiters and employers of the tech world to look outside their usual pool of candidates.
Reasoning: The solution was all about making the invisible visible. We were looking for a way to make employers see talent, where they too often see a threat. Therefore, nudging the world to go “behind the source” isn’t just a geeky move, it’s an invitation to literally reveal and uncover the potential that hides behind the “refugee” label.
Challenges: It comes from the nature of the project itself. It was about rallying an army of partners—eBay, Accenture, Backbase, Exact, Marktplaats and Zivver—and using their voices to inspire more companies from the tech world to follow their steps. The challenging parts were getting everyone on board, syncing the launch of the campaign on each company’s homepage, and defining a voice and a look and feel that could be passed from hand to hand.
Favorite details: We enjoyed the design process of using only code characters to design everything. To get this result, we first shot actual pictures of the HackYourFuture graduates, then ran those pictures through an algorithm that reconstructs them using letters, numbers and punctuation marks. This way, we could copy and paste them in the source code of all these websites, turning code into art.
Visual influences: The aesthetic of the portraits is a direct tribute to Easter eggs—the artworks made of ASCII and code characters that developers sometimes hide in their code.
Specific demands: Using only code characters to design everything wasn’t just a creative restriction, it was also a way to show the HackYourFuture graduates while making sure no one would be able to recognize them; this enables us to ensure the anonymity that is sometimes required by their political refugee status, and the safety of their family left behind.
Alternative approach: We would have done more, as more needs to be done until “refugee” stops being a box, and becomes just a word again.
Anything new: This project was a life-changing experience. It was about deconstructing an alienating word—a label deeply ingrained in culture, in media and in our own minds. Meeting and getting to know the graduates Sarea, Rami, Mohamad, Elif, Joudi, Sima and Alusine not only moved us, but it also changed us.
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