PROJECT TYPE
Assignment for Design Studio course
Assignment for Design Studio course
OBJECTIVE
Develop a series of posters shedding light on various housing issues in San Diego County.
Develop a series of posters shedding light on various housing issues in San Diego County.
BRIEF
As a personal project for my Design Studio course at SDSU, I decided to create a series of posters about several housing issues that currently are affecting many in San Diego, such as rent control, housing shortages, affordable housing availability, and tenant rights.
As a personal project for my Design Studio course at SDSU, I decided to create a series of posters about several housing issues that currently are affecting many in San Diego, such as rent control, housing shortages, affordable housing availability, and tenant rights.
CHALLENGE
I wanted to create this series in a way that differed visually from the left-leaning political art style that has become very cliché over the past century, which is characterized by bold, blocky text and red-based color schemes popularized by Soviet era propaganda.
I wanted to create this series in a way that differed visually from the left-leaning political art style that has become very cliché over the past century, which is characterized by bold, blocky text and red-based color schemes popularized by Soviet era propaganda.
SOLUTION
Included are four posters and a screen printed tote bag with organic, hand-drawn designs and type with vibrant, bold colors.
Included are four posters and a screen printed tote bag with organic, hand-drawn designs and type with vibrant, bold colors.
CONCEPT & PROCESS
I began this project by exploring different housing issues that are prevalent in San Diego and exploring different directions I could take this poster series in. After deciding to go heavily illustration-based and having each poster depict a different specific issue, I began brainstorming compositions and ideas for each housing issue. I wanted to emphasize the idea of people power and have it be a recurring theme throughout the series to have an overall positive outlook despite the nature of these issues.
FINAL DESIGNS
I wanted to make this poster series very different from political posters throughout history. I chose colors that contrasted well with each other and against a black background while straying away from the very common red-based color schemes of past political art canons. I tweaked the colors I used to make them seem as if they were mixed in real life with the same couple ink colors, creating better continuity and flow.
Leaving typefaces behind altogether, I chose to hand write text that seemed urgent and serious for the main captions to attract attention when paired with the highly contrasting green-yellow. For the copy text, I wrote in a more squared off style for better legibility while still being hand written.
Similar to other digital illustrations I've created in my free time, the illustrations in these posters are blocky, organic, and simplified. I figured this style would work very well with this poster series and its intended functionality. With clear, concise imagery, the message of each poster would be clear to anybody passing by it on the street.
TOTE BAG
This tote bag is another deliverable I developed that is for sale on my webstore. This bag is intended to be all four poster designs compiled into one illustration, to showcase all of the depicted housing issues and messages at once. Having all four designs compiled into one emphasizes my point of people power and showing how unity can greatly strengthen us against injustices.
me printing the tote bags by hand
