ADC Awards

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2026 ADC Awards - Typography / Lettering

Broken Numbers

Agency Owly / São Paulo + Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas / Rio de Janeiro + Hunter Press / São Paulo

Client Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas

Category

Design for Good / Typography / Lettering

Annual ID

ADC105_DFG047M

Known as the country of soccer, Brazil is also one of the most violent countries in the world for women. While the sport is a deeply rooted cultural heritage, the same environment perpetuates a culture of machismo that normalizes violence. The consequences are alarming: Brazil ranks fifth globally in femicides, and a woman is assaulted every two minutes. On matchdays, when soccer should unite the country, this number increases by 26%.

To break the silence surrounding gender-based violence in a country deeply passionate about soccer, we transformed one of the most sacred symbols of Brazilian sports into a cultural awareness tool. We created an unprecedented version of the Botafogo jersey in which, for the first time, the uniform numbers were redesigned using real radiographs of fractured bones from women who were physically assaulted. Each number stopped being just an element of the game and began to carry the pain that the country insists on ignoring.

The execution began with the transformation of real radiographs of women who were physically assaulted into a custom typeface applied to the jersey numbers. Each digit was redesigned based on fractures of forearms, femurs, ribs, and skulls, sourced from news reports and public archives. The marks of violence were exposed without compromising the legibility required for official matches. What was once a purely technical identification element became a powerful visual manifesto that brought gender-based violence onto the field.

The initiative also led to concrete change. Two of the country’s main stadiums, Nilton Santos and Neo Química Arena, implemented anti-harassment training on matchdays. A rival club, Corinthians, adopted the typography on its jersey. The broken numbers also took to the streets, appearing in protests and demonstrations as a visual outcry against gender-based violence.

2026 Awards

Total Points: 3

Merit Honor

Credits

Agency

Owly / São Paulo

Client

Nathan Lemos
Marcelo Furtado

Client / Brand

Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas / Rio de Janeiro

Production Company

Hunter Press / São Paulo

Art Director

Bruno Esteves

Chief Strategy Officer

Aline Alves

Creative Director

Ricardo Levy

Designer

Milena Franco

Film Director

Victor Bilbao

Photographer

Vitor Silva

Executive Producer

João Paulo Moralez

Client Approver

Paula Young

public relations

Douglas Meira

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