Pink Ribbon – The official Danish breast cancer ribbon logo
- Year
- 2010
- Client
- Kræftens Bekæmpelse (Danish Cancer Society)
- Medium
- Logo, wallpapers, campaign concept
The Danish Pink Ribbon breast cancer ribbon – and the year's campaign "1 out of 9", told as an image.
Sixteen years ago I drew a ribbon. It still returns every year, raising money for research, awareness and community for everyone living in the middle of breast cancer.
In 2010 it became the official Danish logo and donation mark for Støt Brysterne and the Danish Cancer Society. Its sweeping, slightly uneven tails have been the visual signature of the September fundraiser ever since.
I am moved and proud. The ribbon turns up everywhere: on hairbrushes, bicycles and key rings, on underwear and even on rye bread. That same year I also designed three patterns for donation use.
Designing signs that must carry meaning beyond their own time, across every kind of surface and material, is at the heart of my work. The ribbon was a natural task for me, and it has lived longer than I dared hope.
I wanted to turn a statistic into something you can see: "1 out of 9." Eight healthy pairs of breasts, and one with a tumour, marked by the bow.
Breasts have so many loving names. I asked my network on social media to help me collect them, and the pet names poured in. The knockers, the big melons, the boobs, the jugs, the good ones. All of them are in the pattern design, and here and there the text reminds us: 1 out of 9.
The whole design is written in my handwriting, as a personal greeting to everyone who looks after breasts. The message is awareness and care, so lumps are found in time.
I was the one out of nine. So was my mother. I found my lump in good time, thanks to the awareness work Støt Brysterne does. My mother did not – she only lived to 53. I was treated quickly, I survived, and today I am healthy.
So thank you for buying products with the official Danish breast cancer ribbon. You support the Danish Cancer Society and Støt Brysterne. And you carry a little piece of me with you.
The ribbon is registered as an NFT artwork and is free to use. If you use it, please consider a donation to the fight against breast cancer. Write to me if you would like the PDF file.
Warmly,
Charlotte Skak