Subvertisements: Using Ads and Logos for Protest

The Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) is exhibiting images from their archives in the politcal graphics show Subvertisements: Using Ads and Logos for Protest at the California State University Northridge Art Galleries in Northridge, CA through April 21. The exhibition, of nearly 90 posters by artists, graphic designers and students, explores how consumerism and branding have shaped a foundation of cultural identity.

In describing the exhibit, Los Angeles CityBeat notes: "Two years in the planning, the show hosts work from the 1960s through just last week. Topics include vegetarianism, the environment, globalization, and human rights. Most of the posters were culled from the CSPG’s extensive collection; others were donations made specifically for this exhibit."

Items displayed in the exhibition are divided into three main categories, with some inevitable overlap: posters that appropriate ad imagery to address separate issues; product boycotts; and event posters with overtly political illustrations.

“Posters still have a real cost-effective and visual function,” says CSPG director Carol Wells. “To convey an idea to someone to get them thinking about a problem … artists can do that better than anyone else.”

The exhibition is funded in part by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles.

Image: "iRaq," Forkscrew Graphics, Silkscreen, 2004, Los Angeles, CA

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Design studio housecleaning - excavated artifact #8

I am continuing to sort through and archive over 30 years of design projects as I organize my home studio. It amazes me how much concept and process documentation I have filed away over the years. I seems a possible book on my 30+ years is evolving as I find more such materials all the time - and I haven't even started converting years of floppy disks to more stable archival vehicles.

Recently I came across the original planning meeting notes for a 1995 AIDS organization fundraising event to be called "Coffee Cares." The sheet of notebook paper listed a variety of possible event names and taglines. As the meeting progressed I scribbled out a possible logo design in ball point pen - based in part on the design of my own previous logo design for the Seattle restaurant Glo's Broiler. By the time the meeting was adjourned the event identity was created in my mind and on my page of notes.

My rough sketch included a roughed out intrepretation of the font Frankfurter Highlight for that retro cafe look, a checkerboard pattern above and below the event name, a space for the yet-to-be-determined tagline and steam coming off the coffee cup in the form of the AIDS ribbon.

Within a day my final logo concept was created, presented and accepted by the event planners. Little changed from the original scribble. I did drop the checkerboard pattern above "Coffee Cares" and the space reserved for the tagline was moved from the left to the right - now filled with the message "Baristas, bakeries & bistros supporting people with AIDS."

The image was very successful in drawing attention to the city-wide event in Portland and the fundraiser added to the coffers of local AIDS organizations. The logo was also featured in the books Restaurant Graphics 2, Typography and Blue is Hot,Red is Cool: Choosing the Right Color for Your Logo.

Note: In previous bLog-oMotives entries I took a look back at excavated artifacts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Building Letters Three: Tsumani Edition available

Following the devastating Indian Ocean tsumani of December 2004, many in the design and typography communities felt the need to do something to help those impacted by the natural disaster. The immediate response was the coordination of an effort by Building Letters and the Society of Typographic Aficionados (SOTA) in creating Font Aid III, a project uniting the typographic and design communities in raising funds to expedite relief efforts in the affected countries.

More than 220 designers worldwide submitted over 400 glyphs for a collaborative charity-ware typeface, Fleurons of Hope, which has since been available for a minimum donation of $20 at MyFonts. My own design (below left) was included in the Font Aid project result. In early 2005, 35 foundries donated proceeds from sales of their top-selling fonts through MyFonts for a 30-day period. More than $18,000 was raised through the Font Aid III effort.

This past fall the second phase of the project, the publication Building Letters Three: Tsunami Edition, was released at the ATypI Conference in Lisbon as part of the continuing design industry response to the tsunami. The publication includes articles by Tom de Gay, Nick Shinn, Max Kinsman, Fiona Ross, Donald Beekman, a piece on the Fleurons of Hope project, and a CD of 25 fonts by designers Tomáš Brousil, David Březina, Veronika Burian, Stefan Hattenbach, Richard Kegler, Ludmila Lorenz, José Louis Coyotl Mixcoatl, Bram Pitoyo, Pieter van Rosmalen, José Scaglione, Jürgen Weltlin, and Seonil Yun. The Fluerons on Hope font is also on the disk.

All proceeds from the sale of the publication go to Direct Relief International for distribution to those most in need of the continuing aid. Order your copy from the Building Letters website.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Milton Glaser creates Darfur poster

"What Happens in Darfur Happens to Us” is the theme of a poster recently created by legendary designer Milton Glaser. This awareness campaign will benefit the International Rescue Committee, driving people to the IRC website to learn more about Darfur, the work of the IRC around the world, and how to support the organization in efforts to deliver lifesaving aid, protect women and girls, and speak out for global action on behalf of the Sudanese people.

Glaser created the campaign to call attention to what he describes as “one of the great humanitarian crises of our time.” The poster concept takes the seemingly distant crisis and personalizes it, relating Sudanese family members being killed every day to members of our own families. The design incorporates the hand imagery from Glaser's previous "We Are All African" poster which brought conditions in Africa, and world poverty issues, into the public spotlight.

Milton Glaser is among the most celebrated graphic designers in the world. He co-founded the revolutionary Pushpin Studios in 1954, founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968, established Milton Glaser, Inc. in 1974, and teamed with Walter Bernard in 1983 to form the publication design firm WBMG. Throughout his career, Glaser has been a prolific creator of posters and prints and produced iconic designs, such as the famed “I Love NY.” The industry icon is also the author of Graphic Design and Art is Work, and co-author of The Design of Dissent.

Funded by School of Visual Arts (SVA), where Glaser has been an instructor and board member since 1961, the poster campaign currently appears on a 28 x 38 foot banner outside the SVA headquarters in New York City. It will also be present on subway platforms and the insides of 250 subway cars throughout January.

The Darfur poster can be purchased at www.miltonglaser.com. All proceeds from the sales go directly to the International Rescue Committee.

World AIDS Day 2006:A day of reflection and a call to action

Just over 25 years ago a small article in The New York Times reported the outbreak of a rare "cancer" among 41 gay men in New York and California. No one could have predicted the impact that news item would eventually have on the world.

Today, an estimated 22-25 million men, women and children have died of AIDS or AIDS-related illnesses, and an estimated 40 million individuals are living with HIV. AIDS impacts people of all ethnicities, ages, genders and sexual orientations. AIDS is devasting generations in Africa. The United Nations AIDS agency estimates that India has the largest caseload for a single country with 5.7 million individuals infected with HIV. AIDS continues to impact Americans in huge numbers.

World AIDS Day, December 1st, is a time for all people worldwide to unite in the ongoing fight against AIDS. It is up to all of us to stop the spread of HIV - and prejudice - through education, prevention programs, assisting in the care of those with HIV/AIDS, and doing what we can to help find a cure. World AIDS Day also offers a time to reflect on the personal impact of AIDS in our lives.

In December 1985 I got the news that one of my best friends had AIDS - one of the earliest cases in Oregon. Still, I was not prepared for what was to come. Over the next decade so many people I knew died of AIDS, including my college roommate, a fraternity brother, teachers, friends, clients, vendors, neighbors, other roommates, a distant cousin and others. I literally lost count as the number of people I personally knew who died from AIDS neared 100. My cousin, promising playwright and director Bradford O'Neil, was HIV-positive and committed suicide after caring for his partner until his death. This past year my best friend, Brad Hall, - who was diagnosed HIV-positive many years ago - died from what had extended his life. The "cocktail" of medications he'd taken for quite some time destroyed his liver and he did not live to get a proposed transplant. I've thought about many of these individuals with recent AIDS, and World AIDS Day, news.

As "creative types" - designers, photographers, writers and others - we are in a unique position to take action in the ongoing battle against AIDS. It's hard to believe that it has been 20 years since I first started doing design work related to HIV and AIDS. The projects have included logos for AIDS Walks, fundraising events, AIDS organizations, theatrical presentations about AIDS, a food bank for people with HIV, hospices and related clients. I've also created posters, newsletters, banners, ads, education booklets and other collateral items used in informing the public about the prevention of AIDS and the care of those with HIV.

I encourage - or challenge - others in the creative professions to do the same. Contact your local AIDS organizations, health departments, hospices and related groups to offer your services as a designer, photographer, writer, or even as person with some time to donate in providing any service needed.

The following resources may be helpful in locating organizations needing your assistance:

amFAR • KnowHIVAIDS.org • MTV/Staying Alive • UNAIDS • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative • The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation • Designers Without Borders • ONE • We All Have AIDS • WorldAIDSDay.org • Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS • Doctors Without Borders • GuideStar • Design for Social Impact • AIDS Healthcare Foundation

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

A beautiful, simple and powerfulsocial message appears in New York City.

A few days ago I received an email, with the subject line "Ali Forney Foundation," from my friend Mark who lives and works in New York City. A couple graphics were attached to the email and he explained that he'd started seeing the images in the subways on his way to work.

The beautiful, simple and powerful posters from the Ali Forney Center, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth homeless services center, were part of the launch of a print and outdoor advertising campaign to ask a simple question: "Would you stop loving your child if you found out they were gay or lesbian?"

Telephone kiosk ads began appearing in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx on June 16, followed by print ads in publications such as the Caribbean Times, Hoy, Manhattan Times, Afro Times and New American Times. In addition, over 1000 subway ads began appearing on June 26, the day of the annual LGBT Pride celebration and parade in New York City. The campaign was created to send a strong message to parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth during Gay Pride Week in New York City.

In commenting on the campaign, Carl Siciliano, Executive Director of the Ali Forney Center, said, "This ad campaign speaks to a universal human experience, the love between a parent and a child,"

"Our goal is to address the rising rate of LGBT youth homelessness, particularly in communities of color," he continued.

The Ali Forney Center was started in June of 2002 in response to the lack of safe shelter for LGBT youth in New York City. AFC is dedicated to promoting awareness of the plight of homeless LGBT youth in the United States with the goal of generating responses on local and national levels from government funders, foundations, and the LGBT community.

The mission of the organi- zation is to help homeless LGBT youth be safe and become independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood. According to Siciliano, from his Advocate.com commentary Do we reject our LGBT children?, "a recent study indicated that 25% of teens who come out experience rejection by their families. And many of these rejected teens find themselves out on the street, homeless and vulnerable. Surveys of homeless youths in cities across our country consistently show LGBT teens making up 25% to 50% of the entire homeless youth population."

The center is committed to providing homeless LGBT youth with the services they need to thrive, including emergency and transitional housing, medical and psychiatric care, street outreach and drop-in services, and a vocational training program.

The campaign was created by Double Platinum, a full-service marketing communications agency that specializes in messaging related to the GLBT community and for the gay and lesbian market.

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

The Design of Dissent:One of Amazon's 50 Best Books of 2005

Each year the editors at Amazon.com select their 50 best books of the year. I always check out the selections while making my holiday gift list (as mandated by my partner's mother) and it's not surprising that design books usually don't make the top 50. That's different this year on the Best Books of 2005 listing - right there at number 46 is The Design of Dissent : Socially and Politically Driven Graphics, by Milton Glaser and Mirko Ilic, with a foreward by Tony Kushner. The Rockport Publishers book is an incredible archive of designs focusing on social/political concerns from around the globe. This past July, designs from the book were in an exhibition, curated by Glaser and Ilic, at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. The web site TheCreativeForum.com has an interview with Milton Glaser about the book.

One of my own designs, a graphic in support of same-sex marriage, is included in The Design of Dissent. I created the “I DO!” image and distributed it via email for use by those supporting the legalization of same-sex marriage when Multnomah County Commissioners authorized the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Portland. Flyers, stickers, and buttons were produced and displayed in the windows of business and homes, on the bumpers of cars, and at public hearings on the topic. Images were also designed for campaigns in Oregon's Benton County, California, Massachusetts, New York, and New Mexico. The New York image is featured in the book. The “I DO!” graphic was part of the Multnomah County Wedding Album Project exhibit earlier this year and is now part of the Oregon Historical Society's permanent collection.

In addition, I was invited to submit the designs to the archives of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics. The Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) is an educational and research archive that collects, preserves, documents, and circulates domestic and international political posters relating to historical and contemporary movements for peace and social justice. CSPG demonstrates the power and significance of these artistic expressions of social change through traveling exhibitions, lectures, publications, and workshops. Through diverse programs, CSPG is reclaiming the power of art to inspire people to action. The archive currently contains more than 50,000 posters and is the largest collection of post World War II social justice posters in the U.S. It includes works produced by offset, lithography, linocut, woodblock, silkscreen, stencil, and photocopy. In the last sixteen years, CSPG exhibitions have toured to more than 280 venues nationally and internationally. Collection pieces are frequently loaned to other institutions, such as the Smithsonian, Getty Institute, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

© 2005 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives