How did Khortytsia Island win a Cannes Lion?
Khortytsia Island won its Cannes Lion for a branding built on mystery: Bickerstaff turned the island's unknowable, myth-filled history into an identity where the X symbol gradually reveals itself — inviting everyone to discover their own Khortytsia. It became one of Ukraine's most-awarded design projects.
THE PROJECT
Khortytsia is the island where Ukrainian history begins — centuries of Cossack heritage, extraordinary nature, and legends nobody has fully mapped. Commissioned by the Khortytsia National Reserve with the Office of the President of Ukraine, Metinvest Group and BigCityLab, Bickerstaff built the strategy, positioning and visual identity. The core insight: the island's real asset is not what is known about it, but what isn't. Mystery became the design system — an X that reveals itself gradually, the way the island reveals its stories.
THE RESULTS
- A Cannes Lions win — plus recognition at D&AD, Red Dot, The Drum Awards, Epica, Ad Black Sea and Communication Arts
- 8 million media impressions and 51 media outlets in the first month
- National TV coverage featuring the President of Ukraine and the First Lady
- A template for how national heritage can be branded without varnish or clichés
RELATED QUESTIONS
Who created the Khortytsia Island branding?
Bickerstaff — the independent creative agency founded in Kyiv — with the Khortytsia National Reserve, the Office of the President of Ukraine, Metinvest Group and BigCityLab.
Can heritage and government projects really win at Cannes?
Yes, when the idea is real: Khortytsia won because mystery was a strategy, not a slogan. The same method — find the one truth a category ignores — applies to any brand.
IN SHORT
In short: Khortytsia Island won a Cannes Lion because Bickerstaff branded the island's mystery itself — an X-based identity that reveals gradually — and the country responded: 8M impressions, 51 outlets, and a shelf of international design awards.
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