Of the many tools the designer has at their disposal, the tools of visual styles and the effective application thereof are paramount. Whether designers craft by hand or computer, the physical tools merely aid them in executing their ideas. In other words, concept and style are more important than the physical tools that are used. What we mean by this is not that the execution can be slack when the concept is strong, but that the style and execution should express the concept at its best. Consider the visual overview we have taken on the use of strong and bold graphic design and how this is used to communicate a message with a conscience.
- Design an A4 poster for a humanitarian cause you feel passionate about. For example, creating awareness and a call for action against animal cruelty. You must apply pastiche to your design. Use a style of propaganda used during the Modernism era and create your own unique design in a contemporary context.
- Start by creating at least five thumbnails for your design. These thumbnails should be handed in with your assignment.
- Write a rationale or explanation for your poster of at least 350 words about why it is necessary to create awareness of the humanitarian cause you have chosen and how your design will help achieve this.
- Explain your creative execution, be sure to mention the use of colour and graphics as well as typography.
- Give examples of the designs you used as inspiration and why they are applicable to your design.
I chose to make a refugee poster.
Thumbnails:
Save refugees!
I have chosen the topic, save the refugees as my humanitarian cause. I think it’s very necessary to create awareness around this especially when you see today’s situation’s and war going around the world.
In the past decade, the global refugee population has more than doubled. Around 84 million people around the world has been forced to flee their homes. Among them are over 26.6 million refugees, the highest population on record and 68% of the world’s refugees come from just 5 countries.
Imagine being forced to leave your homeland and everything you have and know, to suddenly loose everything. You are moving to a country without job, money, food or belongings. You would have myriad needs, starting with clean water, toilets, health care and food. This is not always something we can take for granted.
Before reaching the country, they can get help, refugees go through a number of dire conditions such as thirst, hunger, extreme weather, violence, robbery, abuse, rape, emotional stress, and death. Let alone the drastic conditions they have in refugee camps.
Not only the horrific conditions the refugees have to go through, but it is also a major environmental problem for all of humanity.
Right now, large camps of displaced persons, can wreak major environmental damage. Refugees use and pollute water, deplete wood supplies for fuel, and poach animals for food, often harming parks, nature reserves and World Heritage Sites. More than 100 tons of human waste and garbage has polluted canals and waterways, severely degrading local air quality. Camps have been constructed in areas that are habitat for Asian elephants, leading to clashes between humans and these endangered animals.
These impacts make host countries less willing to receive more refugees.
All of these circumstances – conflict, natural disasters, and climate change – pose enormous challenges for the international humanitarian community.
It is a critical situation, and all the world leaders must be called upon to cooperate and settle the issue of refugees. All societies must open their doors to these refugees. It is time to stop blaming refugees for social and economic problems as this will do no good other than the results in more hatred and discrimination. While many countries perceive refugees as a burden, it is crucial to remember that no one decides to leave his/her country and risk his and his family’s life unless they know that the risky routes are safer than their countries.
To end the refugee crisis, every country must take a stand to end this issue and prioritize not only saving refugees but every human life. And this is what my poster is showing. Two country’s shaking hands and accepting the refugees as their own citizens. Because we are all the same, we are all people. The design also shows the safe travels over the shaking hands, the refugees need to have a safe road from the one place to the other.
The creative execution:
Since the task was to apply pastiche to my design and use a style of propaganda from the Modernism era, I found two modernistic posters that I was inspired by. I used the thumbnail that I thought was suited for the message and combining this with the style of propaganda modernistic poster. The colors I used was from the inspired posters, the red color gives a powerful message and is often used in the propaganda posters. It is not much color use from this era, and red, black and the beige color is typical, which also worked well with the cause I am showing. For the typography, I used Krungthep which is in the style of fonts used in the modernism era.
Inspiration:
cathrinenilsen.com 