Overview
The social, political, and cultural issues we face today will impact the rest of our lives. How much you want them to affect it depends on our actions right now. What are the ethics of not doing anything? What can designers do? This project explores those questions and asks you to think about how you can give voice to the often invisible…and inspire hearing, understanding, and, most importantly, action.
You will choose a topic that you personally care about, and create a social impact campaign to support it. You will deliver a campaign brand style guide, an editorial magazine spread that speaks to your topic, and at least two other deliverables of your choice.
MoodBoard
My take:
As I have grown older and moved into my teen and adult years, the issues surrounding fentanyl overdose have continued to rise exponentially. When we went through the D.A.R.E. program as fifth graders, fentanyl exposure was hardly, possibly not at all, covered. My goal going into this project was to research what fentanyl-related overdose looks like and to show what people need to be aware of when looking for the signs.
I created a two-page magazine spread and multiple street mockups to illustrate what the campaign would look like in the real world.
Logo & Style Guide
Logo
When designing this wordmark, I wanted it to be bold and to the point. This campaign is intense and harsh. It is meant to make the viewer a little bit uneasy because this is an issue that, as it becomes more and more prevalent in society, needs to be taught to people more. When designing the logo, I used the font Gotham Bold for the text with no adjustments to any type. The word “fentanyl” is encased in a dark box, representing the darkness and evil that goes hand in hand with this issue. The colors I decided to use throughout these designs followed the dark and gray mood this campaign represents. I used Gotham Bold and Sabon Regular as my primary and secondary fonts because they are legible and easily read and understood together. To me, the information being read was more important than having a fancy font to present it.
Magazine Spread
The idea for this magazine spread was to catch the reader’s eye with the bright-colored pills as the main photo on the first spread. Fentanyl can take a variety of different forms, with pills being one of them. People need to be aware of what it can look like and how it can be administered unsafely. Considering this spread is just an example of a page from what would be a larger magazine, only some key points are highlighted in this spread. Here, we are focusing more on what the visible symptoms could be in a situation like this. The call to action here is being able to spot the signs if you are in a situation where you believe someone is going through an overdose.
Bus Stop Infographic
In addition to the magazine spread, I was required to create a poster or representation of what this campaign would look like in a more realistic environment. I decided to create an infographic that would be seen in a more populated area, such as a bus stop on a city street. I chose to use a large title stating the call-to-action, surrounded by information that is short and to the point in order to ensure that the viewer receives the message.