As war continue to engulf Israel, and to make waves across the world, there’s a good chance you’ve come across some heart-wrenching graphic images conveying the dire situation on the ground. 

These images are the work of the Israeli design community, which has put together a large database of designed images produced to aid advocacy of Israel on social media. 

Called Design Duty, the initiative was spearheaded by designers at Wix, an Israeli software company specializing in website development services.

“Wix immediately mobilized for technological and logistical initiatives. We at the design guild thought how we could contribute during such difficult times and realized that this is our strength, to convey messages through design,” says Moran Kadussi, the content strategy and trend research lead at Wix.

“We aimed for posters calling for solidarity, but the idea was not to create a classic public advocacy project that highlights facts, but a design project that focuses on feelings,” she says. 

“Design Duty uses design and art to give space to fear, to pain and to bereavement, as well as to strength, solidarity, hope and a peaceful future.”

“We started out on Instagram, and within a few days also put up a website that pools together all the images and enables their download to be used on social media.”

“We began with the simplest thing – we asked designers how they’re feeling. As such, this project encompasses a lot of processing of trauma and loss. In this sense, it can be significant for both the designer and the viewer,” she adds. “We hope that people can find comfort in it.”

The designs shared on the website are varied. Some images aim at an Israeli, Hebrew-speaking audience and others are geared toward the international community. Some are interpretations of the prominent and heartbreaking scenes of the war – a mother kidnapped to Gaza with her two red-haired babies, or the security officer whose keen initiative kept her community out of harm – while others depict flowers, prayers and broken hearts.

“The designers were glad that they had a way to contribute, and the responses they’ve been receiving on social media are giving them strength. We’ve received a lot of exciting responses, a lot of broken hearts,” Kadussi says.

“Our designers are being asked for their works to be used in international campaigns, and we’ve also learned that teachers are utilizing the works and the website to help them in discussions with high-school students about the situation,” she concludes.