How I Live and Work During the War

The following article is from Adweek’s special issue “On Ukraine, by Ukrainians,” published April 25, 2022, and created entirely by Ukrainian writers, editors and artists amid the ongoing all-out war in their homeland. Based in Kyiv, Banda is one of Ukraine's most awarded creative agencies. With an extensive portfolio of clients including international brands like Uber, Spotify and Puma, the agency has won accolades including Cannes Lions and Red Dot design awards. In 2020, the Effie Awards named it the world's most effective independent agency. Banda creative director Oleksandra Doroguntsova shares her experience of leaving Ukraine due to the war and how her agency has continued to work together on projects raising Ukraine's international profile: Where were you when the full-scale war started? I woke up at 6 a.m. when someone called my boyfriend, saying that the war had begun and we’d better leave the city. Looking out the window from our 19th floor, we saw endless traffic stretching to the horizon. So we thought we would wait out and see what happened next. By the end of the day, my beloved 17-year-old cat walked to the center of our living room and died in my arms, as if she knew she would not survive the journey we were about to start. After a brief funeral in the park, we packed our bags and went to sleep. At night, when the air raid sirens went off, we grabbed our baby, Nila, and ran down to the underground parking. I was wheeling her trolley so that she could have some sleep, but it was freezing down there. As soon as the curfew ended, we decided to leave. If it were not for the baby, we’d stay, but we had to put her safety first. My boyfriend could not cross the border due to martial law, so we headed to the west of Ukraine, hoping to stick together as a family. But in a few weeks, seeing no advance, we agreed that Nila and I should flee abroad. After crossing Hungary and spending a week in Prague, we ended up in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at my friend’s place. War is clearly a life-changing experience. How do you feel it has changed you?It made me realize that nothing is impossible. My life partner and I were always worried about how our kid would stand the road. Turns out, she is even more flexible than adults. Nila, a “Covid baby” who hasn’t traveled much, has seen four countries in a month. I’ve also discovered how empathetic kids are. Even though I can’t explain this horror in Ukraine to my daughter yet, she somehow feels when I’m terrified and gives me stress relief. Did this stress cause some creative block? Or did it rather encourage you to work even harder?It’s given me a second wind. Getting back to work made me feel normal again. As a mom—basically a single one, for the time being—looking after her kid 24/7, I greatly appreciate the time I spend collaborating with my team. How has Banda switched to the wartime workflow? Surprisingly, our workflow hasn’t changed much. It reminds me of the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic when everyone went remote. Only now, we take breaks in Zoom meetings so that teammates staying in Ukraine could shelter when the sirens go off. Another thing is there’s no clear distinction between weekends and workdays. You just work whenever it’s safe. Of course, people are exhausted by now but still empowered to do their job and support Ukraine. Banda is no stranger to addressing socially significant topics, e.g., the occupation of Crimea and the Chernobyl disaster. How has your team reflected on current events?Our team made several short films expressing gratitude to people defending our country and allies standing for Ukraine. Another thing we came up with is the "Lullaby" project depicting parents singing their kids a song calling on the world to close the sky over Ukraine. These days, we are also about to launch the Bravery campaign [which has been launched since this interview]. We want the world to recognize bravery as a distinctive Ukrainian feature since it is our choice to fight the russian terror bravely. Ukraine Promotes Bravery as Its Greatest Export At some point, Banda will have to shift focus to commercial projects. How do you view this transition?Social projects work for our benefit, too, serving as awareness campaigns for the agency. But after spending a month volunteering at full power, we came to a point where we had to survive as a business. After all, it is our moral obligation to support elderly relatives, pay rent, and keep the economy afloat. So we still put great effort into volunteering but primarily focus on commercial projects. Apart from working with Ukrainian brands, we are also looking for clients overseas. How do you feel the war has affected the Ukrainian creative community? Before, we were mostly just talking about doing business abroad. Now, we have no choice but to make it happen. We’re learning by doing, so, in some time, we’ll have gained new skills and opportunities to rebuild the business once the war is over. Everyone is united. We may have had some issues in the past, but we’ve set them aside. Once we start quarreling again, this will mean the war is over [laughs]. What might the future of the Ukrainian creative market be like after this forced reboot?It’s time we finally put Ukraine on the map. We will no longer be the underdogs of the creative world. Foreign clients will see we’re capable of working under pressure and withstanding something way worse than a deadline. Creatives are usually treated like delicate creatures. What’s happening now will send the right signal that Ukrainian creatives are both inventive and strong.

Ukraine

How I Live This War

Oleksandra Doroguntsova, creative director for Kyiv agency Banda, fled Ukraine to protect her toddler—but kept working

Taisiia Kudenko

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Taisiia Kudenko