In order to rally people worldwide to eradicate hepatitis B and the risk of liver cancer, Dr. Samuel So knew that he needed to create a brand that everyone would recognize and embrace.
“Learning from the success of the red ribbon campaign against HIV, we thought about a similar ribbon campaign against hepatitis B,” said So, director of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University. His center launched the Jade Ribbon Campaign in 2001 to raise awareness of hepatitis B.
Jade was chosen because, in most Asian cultures, the color reflects good health and good luck — and all other desirable colors had already been claimed by other causes, according to So.
Since the burden of this disease borne most by Asians, two of So’s student coordinators at the time — Stephanie Chao and Charlotte Wu — came up with the idea of folding the ribbon like the Chinese character (ren), meaning “person” or “people.”
This concept became the basis for the S.F. Hep B Free campaign’s logo, designed by Al Perez of Creative i Studio.
“The jade ribbon was a good starting point for the S.F. Hep B campaign, and I wanted to create a logo that would incorporate that concept and leverage off that exciting identity,” said Perez, currently AsianWeek’s creative director.
Since most people do not know that the ribbon symbolizes “people,” he decided to illustrate a person by adding a head and outstretched arms.
“The message I wanted to convey is that of hope,” said Perez, who also designed the S.F. Hep B Free ads featuring Mayor Gavin Newsom and Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, which can currently be seen on Muni bus sides across the city. “The person in the logo looks like he’s going into a positive door full of sunlight, health and well-being, and that is exactly what the goal of this campaign is about.”
To learn about the S.F. Hep B Free campaign, visit
sfhepbfree.org or contact administrative coordinator Thanh Huynh at (415) 321-5865 or thuynh@awfoundation.com.