IUF Campaigning for the rights of people working in the food chain
Our website for IUF showcases how the organisation fights for workers’ rights, equality and safety on a global scale and the agreements they negotiate with the industry to raise standards
IUF are a global union dedicated to fighting for workers' rights in food production, farming, hotels and restaurants, and more.
The website Optima delivered showcases the organisation's ongoing campaigns highlighting human rights abuse and equality issues within the sector and beyond.
IUF don’t shy away from spotlighting global brands and is currently involved in campaigns with Coca-Cola, Marriott and fast food chains. They call out human rights violations, harassment and inequality and fight for trade union rights to raise the standards of workers in this sector across the world.
Recognising past achievements and inspiring action for ongoing campaigns
During the website development, Optima conducted a complete brand overhaul for IUF. We created a distinct identity given life by the hundred-year record of IUF’s work, documented through the voices and stories of thousands of workers across the globe. Our gritty graphic style and colours combine with positive, authentic, rallying imagery to demonstrate the dynamic action of this impactful organisation. The design reflects that much of the organisation’s work takes place on the ground, supporting the efforts of unions and individual workers. Indeed, when IUF first took on Coca-Cola in the 1980s, it followed the assassination of union leaders in Guatemala.
The site needed to be developed to support the urgency and need for action, which enables IUF to be reactive to ongoing situations and events. Though the site has a simple structure, there is some back-end development complexity in how information is presented across multiple languages, including page content, stories, and pdf downloads to support the user experience.
6 languages Using Weglot plugin for WordPress
-33% Page load time through ongoing maintenance
+10% Page view time
The website has been designed to be easily updated and categorised as events unfold worldwide. A language switcher changes page content to the selected language using the Weglot plugin, meaning that news is delivered effectively to global visitors. PDF resources around the site are also matched to the visitors’ target language using document categories in the website’s back end. The site currently delivers content in the six languages of the UN but is presently being developed to translate content into Japanese.
Campaign landing page graphics are designed to work in our bespoke template and give each ongoing campaign a distinctive visual identity. Not only does the site highlight current campaigns, but it also showcases the numerous Global Framework Agreements it has successfully negotiated with organisations. These are presented using PDF download, again matched to the visitors’ target language.
Optima’s work on the IUF website continues as we improve visibility through SEO strategies, input into new campaign sections and make enhancements to the site with ongoing maintenance.
For every campaign they get behind, IUF ensures they represent the people actively fighting to raise standards across the sector. In some parts of the world, these workers and trade union leaders face suspension and even imprisonment for their actions. Optima's brand identity approach is to feature authentic images of campaigners, though they may not be of optimal image quality, treated with a graphic style and bold typography to bring each campaign to life.
