Social concern posters intend to invoke a response, to bring about action and change. Sometimes social concern posters can be offensive, rude, shocking, emotional, touching - there is a wide spectrum. It is important to remember who your target audience is/what change you want to bring about/what emotional response do you want to invoke to bring this about. I have included some examples of social concern posters - which invoke different emotions to bring about change. Think about your response to these posters - what makes them effective or ineffective
I think all these are effective but can certainly evoke undesirable reactions if presented in the wrong context. Strong imagery is a good tool but can turn people against the cause if it is perceived as inappropriate or just plain grose. I do think people need to be forced to acknowledge reality and sometimes that may mean pushing the limits in this area. The purpose of the poster may be to force people to see what they want to ignore. There is a great need for cation and discretion in how it is done and to whom it is shown and in what context but I think there is a place for all these posters to do what they were entended for without becoming a harm to themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe posters which evoke the most response from me are the verbal child abuse (#4) and packaged women posters (#2). Both have very strong visual elements. Like we said in class, images and graphics will almost always accomplish what the designer intended and that is certainly true of the emotions and meanings conveyed in these two posters. I like the incorporation of the type into the idea of the verbal abuse poster. It is a very nice visual of something auditory and I would definitely recall this image the next time someone yells at a child. The one with all the women definitely leaves me with the most take away and thoughts to ponder afterwards. There is a lot of depth in this analogy. I also like the idea of the pie chart in the immigrant poster and would love to read the type. Good example of where context comes into play: were this large and physical it would likely arrest my attention, but being small and digital, I just think "cool picture/idea" and don't/can't read it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think the "fresh meat" and "human meat" posters evoke the most emotional response. My first reaction to them was that they were too graphic and too offensive. However, with issues that we hear about a lot (like human trafficking) we can become desensitized to the reality of it. With issues like that, the only way to break through that desensitization in order to convey a message is to shock the viewer enough to pay attention. In light of this, I think it could be appropriate, given the right context.
ReplyDeleteWow! These certainly provoke an emotional response. My first reaction is to look away because I don't want to get emotionally attached, but then I realized that I was already emotionally attached and looked further. These designers certainly shocked the viewer into paying attention. In the right context this is great.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the human meat posters are a little too graphic for those of us with weaker constitutions. Posters rely on initial reactions and mine is to avert my eyes as quickly as possible. I think the other posters dealing with animal cruelty deal with the issue better. It still shows to grotesqueness of the situation without making the viewer as uncomfortable as the other. I really like the refugee poster. The idea of using the head covering as a graph is creative, and makes the reader want to read the rest.
ReplyDeleteHuman Meat... wow, those are really intense. What is frustrating is that of course the posters evoke an emotion, but guess what, after people see those posters, especially if they are online when they see them, they will probably go on facebook or see some other image that will make them forget. How can designers create something that evokes so much emotion that it makes the person stop everything they are doing and want to make a change? How can we design something that will have a lasting impression on someone when they only look at the image for 3 seconds. Need to create a design that will leave a lasting mark on the viewer's mind so they will continue to think... very interesting images.
ReplyDeleteI really like the human meat posters. They are in your face, graphic and sickening. But so is the subject, I think that those who are going to fight or choose to not support human trafficking should understand how horrid it is. I think that they are very well done although I would not ever want to see them outside a restaurant. Having them in an idea place, not in close proximity of food or even on the internet, will make them "more acceptable" and will pack a bigger punch.
ReplyDeleteThe human meat posters are definitely noticeable. As I scrolled through they caught my eye first. The only problem I can think of is that I don't know how to react. Obviously I don't like that a human is being placed inside of a hamburger package, but what does it mean? With closer viewing I can see the details behind just how many people are being killed and sold. This poster design is effective and interesting to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI think the children at war poster is very well designed and does well capturing your attention (at least it did for me). The yellow and black definitely stands out, as well as the kids pointing guns at each other, being something we don't see very often. It conveys the message effectively and makes me want to learn more about it.
ReplyDeleteAll of these posters really are powerful and are able to get their messages across. They use very strong imagery that draws you in and it really made me want to see what the poster was about. Some of the ones that stand out to me most are the human meat ones because they are unique images that you never see and it really made me want to see what the poster was about.
ReplyDeleteAll of these make me feel slightly ill... which I think is the whole point. To make you see the reality of these causes in a way that make you physically react. They are all pretty effective, but first two and the fourth really dig at me because of the designers' use of conceptual design. They successfully created posters that engage you and emotionally affect you without having to say very much.
ReplyDeletewow these cause posters really do their job well. They all evoke an unpleasant emotion in me. And evoking emotion is exactly what they need to do. Their eye catching and you immediately understand what their cause is about.
ReplyDeleteThese posters do invoke a gut wrenching response when you first see them, especially the meat posters. Those stopped me dead cold. It's sometimes easy to forget how a single image can impact someone. However, this can be taken too far. In fact, I wondered how many of these posters would be allowed to be placed in high schools or even churches. Even though they all promote a good message, several individuals would probably deemed them too inappropriate. Yet, sometimes people need to be shocked out of their comfort zones to know what is happening in the world.
ReplyDeleteIf these were to be seen on the street, I believe the human meat ones would by far capture the most attention. This is a very specific subject matter though and I know it wouldn't work for everything. However, something that I think works very well is the incorporation of illustration on top of photography. This seems to be best portrayed with the slaughtered animals and the child abuse posters. It makes you want to figure out what the incorporation means, while also reading into the content of the poster. It's powerful and also controversially playful. It's not something you see everyday as both of these elements are usually segregated and kept apart due to their respect fields of art. Sometimes illustrations speak louder than words though. The child abuse poster seems to do both of these at once.
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