Nobuko Nagaoka

“The experience of first sharing my story for Anne’s book Lived Through This was intense and powerful, and at times, painful,” says Nobuko. “Somewhere inside I felt that going back and remembering the violence I had survived was important. Staying silent, leaving things under the rug is never good.”

As a survivor herself, Nobuko understands that design that uplifts survivors and honors their stories is critical. And as an accomplished creative director and designer, she brings to the work an impressive private sector background. A former Senior Vice President and Creative Director at Foote, Cone & Belding (now FCB Global), one of America’s largest advertising agencies, she approaches every Center for Story & Witness creative project with two audiences in mind: a public that needs to better understand sexual violence, and a survivor community that deserves to see their stories represented with care.

“I think great design has more power than most people realize,” says Nobuko. “Talking about social justice issues is the ultimate communications challenge. If the design works, people will take a second look; they will take the time to encounter in full the stories we are here to share.”