Sam Dubeau supports IWD through her Accelerate Action lettering design
Creatives play an important role in elevating International Women's Day (IWD) through helping amplify awareness raising. Via their creative contributions, audiences worldwide are engaged through collective action to help forge gender equality.
Each year the IWD Lettering Challenge, in association with the global Typism community, calls for creative designs that support an annual IWD focus and showcase the impressive talent of creators.
Here, we shine a spotlight on one such creative, Sam Dubeau, and showcase her IWD 2025 Acceleration Action design.
Sam is part of #Typism100, a directory that helps lettering artists attract new clients through showcasing their skills to a wider audience.
"I’m a brand designer, lettering artist, and calligrapher—crafting big visions and inspiring others to tap into their creative self," says Sam Dubeau, who is based in Ontario, Canada. Sam is a brand designer, lettering artist, and calligrapher who believes hand lettering adds a unique touch and character that goes beyond any font.
Sam explains that Acceleration Action means to speak up and support one another, not just through talk, but through real action. "It's taking steps together that move us in a better direction for the future. It's not passively waiting for something to happen but using our energy in all forms - creative, emotional, mental, and physical - to create change for ourselves and others," explains Sam. "It's powerful to recognize our achievements and how far we've come while also acknowledging that the fight for women's rights and equality continues today. Looking back on history (often a not so distant one, when you consider women couldn't own a business legally until the late 80s, for example) and where we are today, there's much more progress to make, and on so many issues - from our bodies to equal pay. This is why a day like International Women's Day is important, beyond just a single calendar date."
Bold, powerful and expressive letters
For her Acceleration Action design, Sam wanted the letterforms to be bold and powerful but still expressive.
"I also landed on a fun colour application, with a bold dark chocolate-like hue for the letters themselves, then applied an unexpected combination of fruity orange and pink for the shading and highlights. The letterforms also appear stronger, not only because of their weight but because they sit so tightly next to one another. And finally, I drew them with a strong forward slant to convey the message of taking action and moving forward with momentum," explains Sam.
Explaining her creative process
Sam always uses Procreate for her letter illustrations. Sam usually begins with a few rough passes, as she did with this particular piece. Sam applies a grid to the canvas to follow and map out the letterforms.
"For this piece, I tried a few brushes with significant weight to capture the heavy strokes I wanted to create. I used a brush that maintained strong calligraphic contrast for thick and thin strokes. Then, after a few passes with this brush, I switched to a less dynamic brush, but still with some contrast, to draw the outlines of the entire formation. Then, it's all about filling in the shapes, applying details and colour, and landing on the final result," says Sam.
A long creative journey
Sam has been creative since she was little - taking drawing and music lessons, and making creations on her grandmother's sewing machine. Sam explored my interest in the arts further throughout high school, graduating with an Arts Plus Certificate, then receiving a B.Des Hons at York University. Over the years, Sam's work exhibited a strong connection to handmade objects and processes, but for her for pixels never faded. So began her pursuit to achieve a beautiful balance between digital and physical. Whether working with pixels or paper, Sam loves bringing creative visions to life.
Sam's professional work covers all phases of the creative process: conceptualization, strategy, direction, and execution, primarily focused on brand development and marketing collateral. Sam works closely with businesses and individuals to bring their visions to life. Sam also spends a great deal of time doing event work, as an on-site artist, a reviewer and panelist for portfolio critiques, and leading creative workshops.
Check out more of Sam's work here.
Share your creative talent with the world
Post your creation on your social media feeds using the hashtags #IWD2025 #AccelerateAction #IWDtypism for a chance to be featured.
Together, let's Accelerate Action for gender equality.