Persuasion

For the next uni project I will be looking into ‘persuasion’, how we design so that we shock the viewer and get the message across. We were given many examples of posters, campaigns and videos that were strong, striking and provocative. We were given the task of collecting images of events happening in society today, an exercise to show the different campaign designs. The most recent event was the Manchester bombing. The  ‘Busy bee’ is still a term associated with industry and hard work, however after the bombing many people decided to get the bee tattooed to remember those who were injured or died in the event.

Another event was the “Je Suit Charlie’ attack in Paris,  where two brothers armed with weapons killed those in the office. The attack was sparked from the attention for its controversial cartoons of Muhammad.

Following the discussion on events today, we were given different topics to choose from, which we will use to research and create work. I decided to look into ‘abuse’ because I thought it was a broad subject. I decided to do some brief research into the different types of abuse and the two that stood out to me most was animal abuse and drug and alcohol abuse.

Animal abuse

I found these posters to be extremely striking and provocative, all images are explicit, showing you exactly what happens to animals for fur or food. The image below surrounding the ‘factory farms’ is extremely provocative, not only have they used an explicit image to gain your attention and emotion, they have printed it to work onto a paper bag suggesting consumerism and produce.

The campaign below has created striking images explaining the reality behind the use of circus animals. The fact that they have drawn clown faces on the animals suggests how humans use these animals for entertainment and wealth. The bars in front of the animals gives you the impression that they’re in a prison, which makes the image even more provocative.

Drug & Alcohol abuse 

Another subject I researched was drug and alcohol abuse. There is plenty of controversy behind this subject and there are many different campaigns taking different approaches to the subject. The first image below, shows a woman who has abused heroin. They have used the slogan ‘Skin care by heroin’ to suggest how abusing the drug changes your skin and “screws you up”. The second image is extremely powerful, the gun  is a symbol of how the drug kills you instantly, there is no need for any text to explain.

The next two images show how abusing alcohol can be harmful for you and others around you. The first image is a take on ‘Absolute Vodka’, where they have created the shape of a bottle in as if it was a crime scene. This image is extremely powerful and metaphorical, as it suggests that you can’t control your actions whilst abusing alcohol. The second image is extremely unsettling, the image of a baby growing inside a bottle suggests how abusing alcohol has an effect on those around you including those who are pregnant.

The last two images show the effects alcohol can have on your behaviour. Even though the first image isn’t the most striking it shows the image of a person who clearly has a problem when it comes to alcohol. His reflection in the glass suggests that he’s considering taking the drink, giving you the impression that you can be addicted to alcohol. The second image is again quite minimal, however extremely striking and provocative. The quote ‘Booze brown’ suggests how some people lose control of their actions and take it out on others when they abuse their drink.