The archive · Brand & Identity · Strategic decision · 2022–2023
We Are Warriors turns the Aboriginal flag into an identity for Blak role models
An Indigenous-owned platform reimagines the Aboriginal flag as its proud mark, so a generation that never saw itself can finally see Blak excellence.
We Are Warriors
What it had to solve
We Are Warriors is an organisation owned and run by Indigenous Australians, created because from birth the odds are stacked against Indigenous young people: a lack of representation means a lack of role models. R/GA was asked to develop a socially conscious, politically charged initiative that empowers Indigenous youth to succeed by putting a spotlight on Blak excellence.
How it works
From birth, the odds are stacked against Indigenous Australians, and We Are Warriors argues the cause is circular: a lack of representation means a lack of role models. The organisation, owned and run by Indigenous people, set out to break that loop by putting Blak excellence where young people can see it.
R/GA's brief was to develop a socially conscious, politically charged initiative, and the answer began with the mark itself. The identity is built on a respectful reimagining of the iconic Aboriginal flag, threaded from the core idea through to the logo — unapologetically proud, and nothing like the way Aboriginal culture is usually shown in charity advertising.
Around that flag stood a movement, not just a brand: allies, organisations and the world's biggest brands were invited to join, shift the narrative and become anti-racist Warriors. For a generation that grew up not seeing themselves, the identity itself was the first role model — proof that the sky is the limit.
Why it lands
- The Aboriginal flag is the most recognised symbol of Indigenous identity in Australia, so reimagining it makes the new organisation instantly legible and unmistakably Blak.
- Because the organisation is Indigenous-owned and run, the flag reimagining is self-representation, not appropriation — the community telling its own story.
- Built on 'you can't be what you can't see,' the identity is the product: seeing the proud mark is itself the first act of empowerment.
- Inviting allies and big brands into the movement turns a visual identity into a coalition that can shift the national narrative.
What it did
D&AD's jury called the identity powerful, distinctive and unapologetically proud, noting that it breaks with category convention in how Aboriginal culture is usually represented; the work sits in D&AD's award archive and gave the organisation a visible platform to grow on.
What you can take
For a movement whose problem is invisibility, the identity is the product: a proud mark owned by the people it represents does the outreach — seeing it once is the message.
Since then
What began as an identity grew into a standing organisation rather than a one-off campaign: We Are Warriors kept putting Blak excellence in front of young Indigenous Australians as R/GA and the founder continued to build on the platform. D&AD's archive keeps the work among its Pencil winners, with the jury singling out the flag reimagining as powerful, distinctive and unapologetically proud.
Sources
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