Tag: communication design

“Unexpected Hues – Human Impact on Ocean Colors” is an interesting poster series by Franziska Stetter. It wants to raise awareness on certain oceanic problems the environment is facing. There are six posters on the topics: “[…] Phytoplankton Growth, Algal Blooms, Plastic Pollution, Oil Spills, Ocean Acidification, and Melting Ice […]” (Stetter, 2026) Each of the posters

“[…] using a vivid gradient of five RGB color values to represent changes in ocean color caused by environmental disruptions. These colors are placed based on real-world coordinates where these issues are prevalent, translated into their position on each poster. Accompanying each visual are detailed descriptions that explain the context, data, and meaning behind the chosen hues, creating a blend of scientific data and visual storytelling.” (Stetter, 2026)

In this poster Brynn Seitzman has focused on one of the effects of global warming. The typography is a call to action and makes us aware that our forests need saving. Through this quote the picture becomes alive, we do not only see burnt out matchsticks anymore, but trees, a whole forest that was burnt down by wildfire, caused by global warming and climate change.

This next poster was created by Jack parker, Evan Hamilton and Gabe Salas, students from the Texas State University. It focuses on showing what can be done against climate change within the field of agriculture through new technology. Since the greenhouse effect is a phenomenon tied to climate change, it is interesting to use this quote to advertise for new agricultural greenhouse solutions that help us live in an environment that is constantly getting hotter.

Jean Quarcoopome created this poster to connect US politics and the danger they pose towards Black lives. The background colour is black to show that it is about Black people and death. In the background a transparent typography shows ‘UNITEDSTATESOFAMERICA’. Within these words some letters are emphasized in white colour, that makes one read the word unsafe. This shows that america is an unsafe place for Black people. The intention behind using the font Martin by VOCAL Type Co, was to hint towards “lettering used on placards and posters during a Memphis sanitation strike, organized by Black people protesting against unsafe working conditions in the 1960s.” (Quarcoopome, 2021)

Coco Cerrella focused on a more graphical approach to depict one big problem going on around the world, which is also strongly emphasized in the US. Namely, immigrant’s rights. The passports of different nations are cemented into a wall. They look like bricks holding society together, but walls can eventually crumble. Cerrella states that “[t]he passport that serves as the entry key for many people is at the same time a wall for migrant minorities, in a world increasingly closed.” (Cerrella, 2021) This poster is also a nod to building walls between nations, which again is a link to Trump building a wall towards Mexico, for instance.

This poster by Karen Crawford also merges topics. It combines the famous last words by George Floyd that fuelled the Black Lives Matter Movement with a face mask, marking the COVID19-pandemic. The words form a mask and are also situated exactly on mouth and nose, where the breath of the Black person shown as a silhouette should be, but is not anymore. It also shows the struggles of the pandemic that many people said they cannot breathe under their masks. But using a mask and struggling to breathe because one is being killed are two entirely different things. This shows that many struggles of mainly white people do not translate similarly to the struggles of Black people. Surely, the Black people that have died would have preffered to wear a mask instead.

This poster by Arnaud Ghelfi was created for the Black Lives Matter Movement. The structure of the letters BLM is especially round, which creates the illusion that the ‘L’ is a heart. The colours help this notion, because the ‘L’ is mostly red and pink, the typical colours associated with graphics of hearts. The black background adds to the fact that this is about Black people. To add to that the shapes of the three letters seem to be built out of the same two components. The colour gradients within the type show that Black people are diverse as well and this diversity adds flavour to society, which is why they are as important as everyone else. (cf. Ghelfi, 2021)

In this second poster about the Black Lives Matter Movement Anna Sera Garcia shows how white space can be used to show reactions of people. The typography is cut out by empty space to show that when white people (that are the majority group) do not speak up about injustice, their silence makes them complicit in the killing of Black people, since they have the power, but do not do anything about these injustices. Other than the whole sentence the word ‘black’ gets not only erased, but torn apart as well, this shows the brutality Black people have to face, by being killed without doing anything wrong. To add to that the sentence ends with a single point, this shows that it is a fact and also emphasizes the finality of the statement. At the bottom of the page the names of Black people that have been killed during this time are listed to not let them be forgotten and show that it is not just an individual case, but a pattern.

This poster by Underline Studio shows the same problem that the previous one did. The two words ‘silence’ and ‘violence’ are merged, by showing their similarities. The whole construct shows the visual of an hourglass, making evident that each second of silence adds to the violence that is happening.

Last but not least, Selcuk Ozis has created a typographic poster showing again that racism kills. The letter ‘i’ stands for black people as can easily be seen. This shows that racism as a construct is fueled by white people, one white person seems to be killing the Black person as is depicted by the ‘s’ that seems to be kneeling on top. The other white people ‘r’, ‘a’, ‘c’, ‘m’ just seem to be watching or are probably silent as they see the scenario unfold. The three colours used remind us of the Nazi flag and show that racism is timeless and, therefore, has to be fought by the roots.

This poster shows a clever usage of typography. Barbara Galinska wants to inspire action against war. The message is clear: Stop war! The continuos outlines fusing the message together shows that one of the words cannot be without the other. The red and black colours make an aggressive combination to show the importance of the message and refer to the topic of war the explosions, burning, blood as well as, death and darkness that comes with war. The sharp edges of the outlines leave no room for doubt, this is a serious matter. The end of the ‘S’ and the space between the ‘P’ and the exclamation mark seem to have extremely sharp ends, similar to scalpels. This design has not only been used as a poster, but also as a base for murals and demonstration signs.

This poster shows a similar approach, also just through typography, but focuses on the war between Israel and Palestine. It shows that both names together create the word please and very small in the right hand corner the small print states “NO MORE WAR”. This already clearly transports the plea of designer Hoon-Dong Chung. To be able to read both the names Palestine and Israel, as well as, the word ‘please’ the transparency effect has been used. While the first two are transported into a second layer by being barely visible, the word please is highlighted by having more opacity. Therefore, the first thing one reads is ‘please’. Afterwards the words Palestine and Israel come into focus and if the message is not clear enough already, then only when analyzing the poster closely the rest of the message becomes visible.

In this poster the main message also comes from typography. This time the text can be interpreted in several ways. The message is: “war does not determine who is right only who is left”. In this case one can either interpret it in the way that during war it can be seen, which people advocate for right parties and which for left ones. Or you can see that, even though someone might be ‘right’ in war (meaning to have the correct opinion), the only thing that matters in the end is who is left after the war (so who is still here in the end). Interestingly, the background shows clouds and a sunny day and the last row of text becomes slightly transparent, showing that not much is left after the war. This poster was designed by Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios.