The IFRC’s Global Strategic Direction for Water Security is a major step in repositioning water at the centre of humanitarian action. Developed for the 2024–2030 period, the Direction responds to a world where climate change, conflict, rapid urbanization, droughts, floods, and unsafe water are increasingly connected. It also reflects a broader shift from emergency WASH interventions toward long-term water security, resilience, and systems strengthening.

The communication challenge was substantial. The Direction had to speak to a very diverse audience: IFRC leadership, technical teams, 191 National Societies, external partners, and donors. It needed to be strategic without becoming abstract, technically sound without becoming inaccessible, and ambitious without losing the practical reality of National Societies working on the ground.

I was brought in to help turn more than a year of technical input, discussions, and consultation material into a compelling global narrative and a strong visual communication package. My role combined narrative strategy and creative direction: structuring the document around a clear progression from the water crisis, to the IFRC’s strategic evolution, to a collective call for action, while also developing the visual look and feel of the publication.

Alongside the core Direction document, I developed a practical Q&A to help address questions and concerns from National Societies, and a high-impact one-pager for donor engagement. I also led the creative direction of the visual concept, working closely with the illustrator and editorial designer to create a visual language that matched the seriousness, ambition, and forward-looking nature of the strategy.

The result was a communication package that made a complex strategic shift easier to understand, easier to explain, and easier to rally around, both in words and visually.

Concept/text: Gyula Gabor Toth, Illustrations: Daniel Szinvai, Editorial design: Gyorgy Szalay