Small Talk
The challenge was to design a set of cohesive posters that bring attention to the pressing matter of climate change and emphasize the need for action. For my posters, I wanted to make a statement on general attitudes of apathy toward climate change. Many people are already aware of the climate crisis. Therefore, I wanted to address people who choose to ignore the issue and remain complacent.
Process
My initial concept was to make satirical posters with two characters engaging in small talk despite being in a dangerous situation alluding to climate change. They would be on fire to represent extreme heat and wildfires, underwater to represent rising sea levels, and engulfed in smog to represent air pollution. I wanted the main tagline to be a commonly used phrase in small talk, so I started out with the phrase “Is it just me or…?”
Process (cont.)
When I brought the initial ideas to Illustrator, I made various changes. I shortened the taglines, moved the slogans, changed the background colors, and made the illustrations more dynamic. Instead of having two characters, I decided to have one character stare at the viewer and engage them in “small talk” instead. By including viewers in the conversation, I challenge them to confront the climate crisis that affects us all.
Results
My professor suggested that I play more with the typography, so I did different treatments for each main tagline to reflect their specific situation. I made the taglines disrupt the text that says “Don’t ignore the issue” to further show how the character is ignoring his circumstances. I also changed the colors by playing around with blending modes to differentiate the posters from each other. This project taught me how to keep pushing the possibilities of a design.