Valeriya Stepanova

SOLD is a critical design campaign that reframes gentrification as a visible act of purchase, erasure, and displacement. The title refers to the way cities, neighbourhoods, and cultural identity are gradually packaged and sold as products. Developed as a fictional public campaign, SOLD translates research on housing pressure, tourism, and urban transformation into a bold visual system. Through posters, street interventions, editorial pieces, and digital applications, the project uses repetition, protest aesthetics, and direct language to challenge narratives of “revitalisation” and expose the social cost of commodifying the city.

For this project I created the logotype. The identity translates partnership into a simple, recognisable M-shaped symbol. Formed by two abstract figures in a handshake, it expresses connection, trust, and long-term growth through a balanced, approachable form. The wider system uses minimal shapes and a restrained palette to position the brand as clear, strategic, and scalable.