According to the World Economic Forum, it will take 257 years to close the economic gap between women and men. PNC Bank, the fifth-largest bank in America, wants to close the gap in this lifetime. PNC Project 257 is their initiative to invest more bank resources in women entrepreneurs.

With over 2,500 branches in 27 states, PNC needed to galvanize support for the project within their headquarters and throughout their regional offices so that every bank leader understood they were part of the solution. So we created the 257-Year Calendar.

The calendar goes 257 years into the future and shows the milestones civilization is predicted to achieve every year for the next 257 years. Those milestones are based on real predictions – for instance, we’ll colonize Mars before we have economic equality.

Studies consistently show that a double standard keeps women from securing business loans and consumer financing from banks at the same rate as men; therefore, closing the economic gap between women and men is the finance industry’s responsibility. As the fifth largest financial institution in the U.S., PNC is well-positioned to help tackle economic equality, and they have both the national clout and regional influence to be a role model in the cause. And a good role model is all that’s needed to spark action in others.

This calendar serves as a dramatic illustration of the problem of economic inequality and aims to compel lending officers, bankers, community leaders and other stakeholders to take action alongside us in our efforts to expand access to credit to women-owned businesses and to financially support women entrepreneurs.

We created an oversized, traditionally formatted calendar, designed to sit on-desk. Its exaggerated scale is a reminder of the absurd amount of time (257 years) it will take to reach economic equality for women.

+ Each calendar year features a headline based on a real prediction about what will happen that year in the future, in a broadsheet-like visual style, mimicking our sensationalized media

+ We designed a unique female character that reflects the prediction in the headline. Flipping through the pages shows her in a stop-motion race through time to the year 2280 — the year we’ll achieve economic equality

+ Unique typography with notable ligatures and glyphs, reflecting traditional print-making effects.

+ Bold, simple 2-color highlighting to emphasize discrepancies in global and technological evolution over equal pay.

PNC Bank is

The 5th-largest financial institution in the US

A top small business and industrial/commercial real estate lender

A strong retail presence in the country’s top 30 markets, with 2,500+ branches

We targeted key corporate executives with lending-decision power and regional influence with our 257-Year Calendar. This book serves as a reminder to them that they have the resources and power to make change and expand access to credit to women-owned businesses. PNC’s goal is to close the economic gap between women and men in this lifetime.