Saturday, January 8, 2011

Fisrt design post actually pertaining to school.

Firstly, pardon me for the shoddy presentation here. I was caught off guard by this picture while taking advantage of Nanaimo's mass transit and all I had to document this moment was the old cellphone.

It was a poster/banner for a suicide and depression hotline offering an outreach number for people in a bad situation to call without feeling pressured to seek someone out for face to face assistance.
I found the image to be powerful and the overall composition was fairly economical and minimally put together.  It definitely used only what was needed.

Reason why I picked this image? Why do I like it?
Its simple, its striking and the mixed messages implied in one simple gesture.  The movement of silencing someone with the hand gesture combining the same hand mimicking a gun.  This imagery mixed with the ominous red and black coloring of the advertisement all culminate in portraying exactly how dangerous depression can be and how its sufferers can literally feel threatened to speak out to help themselves.
Meanwhile contrasting the darkness of the overall composition the white typography could be considered a bit of light reaching out to the targeted reader.

I only wish I could have gotten a better image. If I can catch a better version I'll post it again.
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6 comments:

  1. ChelseyJanuary 10, 2011 at 4:36 PM

    I concur with what you have said about this. I have seen it on the bus quite a few times, and it is quite a strong advertisement that conveys an extremely direct message. Good choice!

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  2. CaitlinJanuary 10, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    Cool poster! It has a strong direct message that gets to the point without words.

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  3. Daniel BarsteadJanuary 10, 2011 at 8:14 PM

    I've seen this on the bus several times as well, and was always impressed by how simple and direct the message is. Good choice!

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  4. Laurelle ArmetJanuary 10, 2011 at 8:52 PM

    Very interesting poster; effective. The gun shaped hand silencing the figure just goes to show how planned out everything was. I mean who would have thought of that, other than us designers ;) The message it portrayed strongly and it's to the point, good job!!

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  5. Melanie de CarvalhoJanuary 10, 2011 at 9:46 PM

    This one is really effective. Not only is the hand mimicking a gun and a silencing gesture but it makes it seem like he's thinking about something. Which of course according to the poster he is. The colours too are not just "pretty" but they are effective in helping the message be more to the point. Awesome!

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  6. CobesJanuary 20, 2011 at 5:54 PM

    The simplicity of this image is very effective and straight to the point! I immediately have an idea of what the ad is communicating.

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