M-Four's International Women's Day campaign conveys female 'attitude, confidence and grit'

The studio designed a series of images for large outdoor, print and social media advertisements that show the city’s unsung lady heroes, from fields including sport, politics, academia and social work.

"In the past we have always taken an illustrative approach but considering this was about strong women it made perfect sense to take a photographic route," says M-Four, which worked with Manchester-based photographer Rob Evans on the project.

"Rob specialises in portrait work, but he has a real passion for shooting things with a purpose," adds M-Four. "We wanted attitude, confidence and grit to come out of every shot and black and white seemed like the perfect answer. The only hit of colour would be the pinned on female gender badge."

Each of the women featured is a Manchester citizen who has either been nominated or voluntarily put themselves forward for the campaign. The stars include a professor, a councillor, a trans volunteer for an LGBT organisation, a professional footballer, a Team GB Paralympian and a TV celebrity Sister who is also a social worker. Each person was shot in their "natural" surroundings, such as a laboratory or Manchester City's Women's Football Academy.

The copy uses the typeface Gotham Rounded, which was also used in previous years' campaigns. "The curved character forms give it that friendlier feel without it being too soft," M-Four explains.