Mountain Top Removal
This poster was recently designed by my Studio I student, Aaron Beattie. It's on a subject that matters a great deal to me as my late husband's family is from the mountains in southern West Virginia. Tom's father was a coal miner but I know it would disgust him to see such wanton destruction of this lush, diverse and rich habitat over greed. It's truly tragic, and a blight on our national consciousness that we allow mountain top removal to go on just because it's a cheaper way to mine coal.
Aaron and I were searching for a visual metaphor to communicate what happens to the mountains in the process of mountain top removal. I suggested taking the top off someone's head but he made it happen by photographing a friend and sensitively photoshopping in images he got from MountainJustice and ILoveMountains.org.
Aaron's body copy reads: Mountain Top Removal has destroyed over 800+ square miles of one of the most biodiverse regions in North America. For short-term profits we are suffering irreversible destruction. Learn the facts at www.ohvec.org, www.mountainjustice.org and ilovemountains.org.
I hope you'll check into this tragic issue.
Aaron and I were searching for a visual metaphor to communicate what happens to the mountains in the process of mountain top removal. I suggested taking the top off someone's head but he made it happen by photographing a friend and sensitively photoshopping in images he got from MountainJustice and ILoveMountains.org.
Aaron's body copy reads: Mountain Top Removal has destroyed over 800+ square miles of one of the most biodiverse regions in North America. For short-term profits we are suffering irreversible destruction. Learn the facts at www.ohvec.org, www.mountainjustice.org and ilovemountains.org.
I hope you'll check into this tragic issue.
Water
I wrote the headline on this very serious issue but Daniel Rebman designed the poster which I think is very well done. He desaturated the image and brought forward the color of the plastic water pistol so it reads quickly. Dimming the opacity of the headline kept high legibility while the image maintain its power.
Daniel's body copy reads:
Oil prices and supply dominate the news but the world's poor are struggling over a more basic resource. The same struggle now threatens rich countries too.
Waters Wars is a place to learn about the struggle for water around the world. Explore the issues, engage with journalists, and make your voice heard.
http://waterwars.pulitzergateway.org
Daniel's body copy reads:
Oil prices and supply dominate the news but the world's poor are struggling over a more basic resource. The same struggle now threatens rich countries too.
Waters Wars is a place to learn about the struggle for water around the world. Explore the issues, engage with journalists, and make your voice heard.
http://waterwars.pulitzergateway.org
Recycle
These two pieces are part of a campaign by Ian Bonner to try to shame people into recycling. The printed plastic wraps would be applied to trash containers of people who were determined to be particularly wasteful and unwilling to recycle. If incentives don't work, maybe shame would.
Don't Swallow
Meghan Crosser designed and illustrated this poster on the impurities in drinking water. Her body copy reads, "Scientists estimate that each year up to 7 million Americans become sick from contaminated tap water. In many cases, repeated contact with tainted water is lethal. Pollution, old pipes, outdated treatment, and manipulated data threaten the quality of our drinking water. Require truth. Demand change." I love it when students open their eyes to significant social issues. I see them growing angrier by the minute as they do their research. Sometimes their designs reflect that anger and sometimes they sneak in under the radar with soft, cool, and innocent designs. My only thought was that some variation on blue might be more appropriate to the poster but Meghan felt strongly that blue would be too trite and obvious. Still it's a sensitive design with a powerful message.
Prevent Deforestation
No, this poster by Giselle Herrerra is not actually on water but on deforestation. Her intent was to point out that oxygen and water are two critical byproducts of trees and that by destroying them, we destroy ourselves. Her copy reads, "Prevent deforestation by supporting integrated grassroots efforts in agroforestry, reforestation, protection of watersheds, water and sanitation, and renewable energy initiatives. Why? Well, tree canopies and root systems provide a natural filter to our water supply and maintain our water cycle by removing pollutants. The destruction of forests also destroys our water and air quality, but it doesn't have to. You can help." I thought her visual infographic was a clever way of showing how trees bring us both oxygen and pure water. Her colors are more sophisticated than displayed in RGB but I think you get the message.
Be Thankful for the Honeybee
Student S. Garrett Ollinger designed this poster on the disappearing honeybee which has much of the world quite worried. The massive deaths of the honeybee has puzzled scientists for awhile though it's now generally attributed to a virus which attacks an already weakened immune system, compromised by pesticides and other chemical pollutants. As Garrett's poster points out, "If we were ever to see the extinction of the honeybee, human kind would follow four years thereafter." (Albert Einstein). Let's hope they find—and fix—the problem soon. Very soon.
Pesticides
This magazine ad spread was part of a simple but effective, multi-media campaign by Bradley Whitford on the dangers of using pesticides. His body copy reads: "A report found that among 9,000 people who had both their blood and urine tested, 100 percent showed pesticide residues up to 4.5 times greater than what the U.S. government deems ”acceptable”. While women often register higher exposures than men because their body fat traps the toxins from pesticides, experts note that children are consistently the most vulnerable group." I don't know about you, but I find it incredibly frightening, especially in terms of our children.
The Killing Tree
This poster was a tongue-in-cheek design called The Killing Tree, which showed the trees coming after us for trashing them. I wish I could tell you which student designed it but the file was not labelled properly so it will take some work to track it down. His headline reads "What happens when the Giving Tree stops giving?" with "Reduce. Reuse. Recycle" at the bottom. I just find the poster funny.
Over protection?
My Studio I student, Michelle Moir, recently designed and illustrated this poster on a current, senstive habitat issue on the Outer Banks in North Carolina where Michelle lives. Being a serious tree-hugger, I'd normally automatically jump on the Save The Birds bandwagon but her poster presented another perspective which I believe is equally viable. The design and illustration of Michelle's poster could be improved—and she's working on it—but I thought it was worth showing here because the viewpoint gives pause for thought. (She's going to make the water in the image look more like ocean waves and hang the sign around the man's neck rather than drilling it into his chest. She'll also explore adding more birds in the background.) I do believe it's important for us to remember Balance in all things and if we're protecting shorelines for birds to the point of driving out generations of residents in the process, then maybe we need to find a way to compromise so that birds and men can continue to thrive together.
Michelle's planning on posting her work around the islands this summer after making the changes. I'll be curious to hear how it's received. Here's how her body copy reads. "The unwarranted and excessive beach closures on the Outer Banks of North Carolina have resulted in the foreclosures of over 40 homes and businesses within The last 3 years. Outer Banks resdents have been taking care of animals and habitats in their area for generations. Now it’s time to take care of the people".
Michelle's planning on posting her work around the islands this summer after making the changes. I'll be curious to hear how it's received. Here's how her body copy reads. "The unwarranted and excessive beach closures on the Outer Banks of North Carolina have resulted in the foreclosures of over 40 homes and businesses within The last 3 years. Outer Banks resdents have been taking care of animals and habitats in their area for generations. Now it’s time to take care of the people".