Confédération Suisse — Branding , campaign strategy by twks: Making the emergency clear to everyone

Services: Branding; Campaign Strategy
Industries: Institutional

Alertswiss is the official platform of the Swiss Confederation and the cantons, run by the Federal Office for Civil Protection. Its mission: to alert, inform and protect the population in the event of disaster or emergency. No margin for error. No room for ambiguity. 

The challenge wasn't to create an identity. It was to create a language. A graphic system capable of transcending linguistic, cultural and social barriers to become universal. Understood in a fraction of a second, by everyone, everywhere in Switzerland.

Design in service of action

With objectivity as the target, TWKS developed the full set of pictograms for the Alertswiss app. Each icon translates a behaviour to adopt in a critical situation. Not an illustration. An instruction.

The challenge: turning complex instructions into visual representations that are simple, immediate, and recognisable at a glance. No room for interpretation. The design doesn't tell a story. It directs.

The aesthetics of the essential

Every element was reduced to its substantial minimum. No flourishes, no graphic signature, no aesthetic temptation. The design deliberately steps back behind the information to create a language that is objective, rational and universal.

A tool of collective trust

With over 1.2 million downloads, Alertswiss now contributes to the safety of the Swiss population. Since 2018, more than 1,500 alerts have been issued across the cantons: floods, severe weather, emergency line outages, the COVID-19 pandemic. A system that's invisible until you need it. And when you do, it works.

Results

A clear, consistent visual language for crisis communication. Instructions immediately understood by everyone. Over 1.2 million users protected through Alertswiss. More than 1,500 alerts issued since 2018 across Switzerland.