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Zalla
Raising female Afghan voices through a bold new media platform.
Revolt Labs
requirement
Philanthropist Roya Mahboob had a vision to develop a brand that would elevate the female voices of Afghanistan. Her mission? To become the leader for truth, trust and transparency in women led journalism.

Following the Taliban’s takeover, women’s voices have been suppressed and freedoms stripped. Roya’s brand would give female artists and content creators of Afghanistan a voice and financial freedom, through digital currency payments for their contributions.

Roya and Virgin Money Giving needed the positioning and visual identity for this bold new beacon of hope.
RESPONSE
Our first step was to interview Roya and several other Afghan women to gain truths and cues about Afghan culture. These workshops helped inform our positioning and naming development, ensuring the brand was authentic from the off.

Three positioning and naming concepts were developed through a prototyping approach, with Zalla emerging as the preferred direction.

The word Zalla means ‘luminous and shining’ in Pashto. Perfect for a brand that was rooted in shining a light on women.
From this base we developed a vibrant, bold and distinctive visual identity that ‘shone a light’ on a range of female Afghan creators. Traditional arch shaped windows were used as portals, aligned with a contemporary twist through bright colours and bold typography.
RESULTS
Founded by CEO of Digital Citizen Fund & Philanthropist Roya Mahboob.
Currently undergoing fundraising to support launch in Q4 2023.
Received additional funding from Virgin Money Giving upon completion of branding project. 
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