A campaign illustrating women’s role, demands and actions in ensuring water security in the face of climate change. 

Introduction: Designing a Record of Defiance

When Hungary’s government launched a referendum targeting LGBTQI rights, civil society organizations mobilized to counter it. Their strategy? Encourage voters to invalidate their ballots—turning an authoritarian tool into a collective act of defiance.

The campaign succeeded. Over 1.7 million people cast invalid votes, rendering the referendum legally void. But success in activism isn’t just about the moment—it’s about ensuring the lessons learned don’t fade away.

At We Are Stories, we were tasked with designing a clear, engaging, and strategic report to document the campaign. More than a summary, this report needed to serve as both a historical record and a playbook—a tool for activists facing similar challenges elsewhere. Our challenge was to shape a document that wasn’t just informative, but mobilizing.

The 2X campaign was fast-paced, strategic, and highly visual. The referendum itself was intentionally misleading, making the campaign’s approach—invalidating votes—both unconventional and effective. To capture this, the report needed to:

• Present the campaign’s key strategies in an accessible way for activists in other contexts.

• Use clear, engaging visuals to translate complex advocacy efforts into actionable insights.

• Balance documentation with storytelling, ensuring the human impact of the referendum was not lost.

This wasn’t just about what the campaign achieved—it was about how others could learn from it.

To make the report both useful and compelling, we designed it around three core principles:

1. A Clear, Navigable Structure
The campaign had multiple moving parts—grassroots organizing, media engagement, legal strategy. To make it easy to follow, we structured the report into three key sections:

• The Context – Explaining the political environment, referendum strategy, and why it was a threat.

• The Campaign in Action – Breaking down how organizers mobilized communities, ran media outreach, and used messaging strategically.

• Lessons for Future Movements – Providing concrete takeaways for activists in similar fights.

Each section was designed with clear signposting, pull-out quotes, and infographics to ensure readers could easily extract key insights.

2. A Balance of Strategy and Storytelling
While the campaign was built on data and political analysis, its success was ultimately about people. To reflect this, we used:

• Real Voices – The report includes direct quotes from activists and campaign organizers, grounding the strategy in lived experience. 

• Infographics for Strategy – Instead of dense text, we used simple visual breakdowns of how the invalid vote campaign was structured.

• Photography & Protest Imagery – To capture the energy of mobilization and ensure the report felt rooted in the movement.

This balance of practical strategy and human narrative makes the report more than just a retrospective—it’s a resource for those working in high-risk advocacy spaces.

3. Visual Design That Reflects the Campaign’s Identity
The 2X symbol, used to mark invalid ballots, became a recognizable part of the campaign. We ensured that same visual language of resistance carried through in the report design:

• Bold typography & strong contrast – Inspired by grassroots protest materials.

• A structured but dynamic layout – Reflecting the urgency and impact of the campaign.

• Deliberate use of color – Avoiding neutrality, embracing the visual identity of the movement.

These choices weren’t about decoration—they reinforced the campaign’s sense of momentum and clarity.

The final report is now being used by advocacy groups, human rights organizations, and grassroots movements to understand how a referendum weaponized against a marginalized community was turned into an opportunity for resistance.

• Widely circulated across advocacy networks, helping shape discussions on strategic voting and political resistance.
• Referenced as a case study for campaign strategy, particularly in contexts where governments use referendums as tools of oppression.

• Provides a replicable model for activists needing structured, action-driven insights.

By combining clear strategy with an engaging, accessible format, the report ensures that the impact of the 2X campaign doesn’t just remain in history—it remains useful.

This project reinforced the importance of designing with function and clarity in mind—especially for movements where strategy can mean the difference between success and failure.

By making complex mobilization tactics visually clear, narratively compelling, and strategically structured, the report serves as more than documentation—it’s a guide for those who continue to fight for rights in hostile environments.