We turned the one-day we celebrate love, into an opportunity to discuss the issue of domestic violence.

Together with four of Australia’s top female typographers we created a series of beautifully hand lettered Valentine’s Day cards. On the surface, they looked just like regular cards featuring cheesy metaphors used to describe love, but on the back an alarming statistic is revealed; For 1 in 3 Australian women, the quote on the card isn’t a metaphor. They experience physical violence at the hands of someone they know.

As the cards circulated, they started a conversation across Australia about an issue too often ignored, and encouraged those of us in healthy relationships think about those that find Valentine’s Day more difficult than most. Anyone could support the cause by spreading the word via #cardsagainstdomesticviolence or purchasing a card to raise money for programs offered by Domestic Violence NSW.

The Cards Against Domestic Violence collection felt very at home amongst other Valentine’s Day cards. Choosing style elements traditionally associated with messages of love made the revealing information on our cards more unexpected and impactful.

We were conscious not to shout our message at people, letting them discover it themselves. By keeping the alarming statistic on the back of each card we allowed people to digest the information slowly. We also wanted to ensure the words themselves remained hero of each card. By giving each statement room to breath, we allowed people time to reflect on the contrast between their perception of love and that of someone’s in an abusive relationship.

As our main objective was to create conversation it was important that the cards were something you wanted to take home and share. We believe that because they were beautiful, the card’s message was more palatable.

All 300 hundred cards printed were sold within days of release, reaching their intended targets on Valentine’s Day.

But more importantly the campaign, and its message, were covered by news sources and blogs Australia wide. The most influential of these were ABC News and Mamamia – Australia’s largest online hub for women.

In addition #cardsagainstdomesticviolence travelled across social media, alerting the audience to the prevalence of domestic violence against women, and giving people a way to share our message without needing to purchase a card.

With no budget, we managed to get Australians talking about an important issue, and used the most loved up day of the year to show love for those who need it most, victims of domestic violence.