Research

Nature + Transport Mind Map 

I have narrowed my problems and solutions down to two. I did struggle choosing between hedgehog decline and pesticides/ bees. I have decided that although hedgehogs are in major decline at this point in time, bee's are one of the most important insects in existence and I feel like I need to raise awareness about the bee population declining. One major factor which has influenced me in this direction is how many people I see buying harmful pesticides and non organic produce in my place of part time work.  

A transport problem I have discovered is traffic.I want to create a campaign for people to switch their engines off. One of my biggest influences to create this type of campaign is the amount of traffic in Worcester. If the traffic is so bad in Worcester it only makes me wonder how bad it is in other cities. I have been stuck in traffic in Worcester myself and I know you can be idling for my than 30 seconds at a time and this often makes me wonder how much pollution are all of these cars creating which is toxic for us as humans and ultimately the Earth. But how can we stop it? 

Nature 

Threats to Bee's

• Widespread use of pesticides, neonicotinoids and GMOs
• Climate change
• Loss of habitat, including land use changes, habitat fragmentation, loss of bio-diversity
• Bees forced into service; monoculture
• Pests, diseases, viruses, and mold

Pesticides have been designed to control the nuisance and damage caused by pests, and have contributed to reducing disease and increasing food production across the world but the availability and widespread use of pesticides also has the potential to cause unexpected risks, both directly and indirectly, to our health.

An action we could take is to buy locally grown or organic foods. This could be a potential campaign to base my posters on. Another action people could take is to switch to ecofriendly pesticides for use in gardens.

If I had a very specific audience such as farmers, as they produce large masses of crops which need protecting against pests; I would consider creating a campaign for them to switch to bee friendly pesticides which cannot harm bee's. 

How can people take action against pesticides? 

The problem I want to create a solution for is bees. Pesticides are a big problem facing bees. 

I came across a report online (link below) which was released by an organisation called the organic centre. It shows that organic farming practices are effective in maintaining the health and population of bees. This study also shows organic farming is important to all crop pollinators not just bees. Pesticides do effect mainly bees in a sense that the rapid decline of bees will effect global food security. 

I found some interesting facts below on a screenshot I took from the report. 

https://www.organic-center.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Role-of-Organic-in-Supporting-Pollinator-Health.pdf

Help the bee population by planting wild flowers?

Another solution could be to encourage people to buy a pack of bee friendly seeds to plant on a patch in their gardens, urban households could plant these seeds in a pot to place on their balcony's or windowsill. 

Campaigns for saving bees by planting wild flowers has already been done so I want to create a poster to persuade people to buy organic food. I think I will be able to use my graphic design skills effectively. 

Campaigns which have been done before 

This is quite a contrasting design which looks quite effective at first glance, I particularly admire the use of blue and yellow as I think this looks very eye catching. This could be a colour scheme I could consider for my designs. 

Transport 

How can people take action against transport? 

Traffic causing pollution 
I want to create a campaign for people to switch their engines off in traffic as congestion causes pollution. I feel like this is a very small step in tackling climate change but it is achievable for people. Maybe the more people who take this small approach, the less pollution in cities there will be. I will need to carry out some research into if turning a car engine off will reduce the amount of pollution in traffic before I carry out designing ideas for this. 

After a discussion with my peers I was told turning a car engine off in traffic creates more pollution because you have to turn the engine back on. However after investigating this issue I have found quite a bit of research which proves turning your engine off in traffic will be beneficial to the environment as well as your wallet. 

A lot of websites I have come across suggest turning your engine off if you are waiting for more than 10 seconds, eg, if you are stuck at traffic lights which have just turned red or are stuff in a backed up queue because of traffic lights or just stuck in congestion in general. 

A car which is idling for more than 10 seconds wastes more fuel than restarting the engine. 

Research shows that frequent restarts are no longer harmful to a cars engine and battery. The added aware if stop starting is no more than £10 a year which is much less costly than the cost of wasted fuel which can range from £70-£650 (depending on fuel prices, idling habits and the type of vehicle). 
Idling increases the overall engine wear by causing them operate for longer than necessary. 

Existing Campaigns Raising awareness of Idling Cars

I need to gather an understanding and idea about the sort of posters which are currently being used by companies/ councils. This will help me pick and choose visual qualities to potentially include in my rough designs. The more designs I can find the better understanding I will have about what works visually and what doesn't. Underneath these images below I will include bullet points of visual qualities I admire and dislike. 

• The immediate imagery on this poster to stand out is the paper chain of people. I think this is quite an unusual visual to include as you instantly associate paper chains with children and school. On the other hand if you look at it that way, it could be making adults subconsciously think of children walking to school amongst a horde of idling engines. A question I would need to ask myself is "will my designs make people double take? Or do I create designs in which the message is instantly delivered to the audience through the aid of graphical imagery?"
• The message of this poster is pretty simple and clear but it also adds shock value. "One minute of car idling produces enough toxic emissions to fill 60 peoples lungs". I think this sort of message will make people re think their actions. 
• The use of blue and grey colours represents clean and dirty air. I quite admire the ombre background.

• This is a photographic approach to the issue of idling. I think photos can be an effective means of communication imagery because of the way how people instantly have association with the image meaning there is no way they could misinterpret the photo, although there are some exceptions where this could happen where the photo has been intentionally shot in such a way. 
• I like the use of yellow text as it makes you think of a hazard. The use of this colour can draw peoples attention, especially when driving as the driver would be subconsciously looking for any road warning signs. 
• Similar to the other poster, this includes a hazard strip along the top and bottom which I believe is to draw attention to the poster. 
• The use of black, white and yellow is very eye-catching.

• This is a different approach to the problem of idling. It presents three key facts on the issue. These could be facts I potentially base my poster on. 
• As I have found this image on the internet I am not sure if this is just a segment of a poster or if this is the design. I do think that this poster could be improved a lot by creating a different poster layout and have the symbols re-designed. 
• I think just plain black and white does not look very effective for this sort of campaign and I think a post of this topic could benefit from at least one other colour such as yellow or green to give the audience a general feel for what the topic is about before they have even started to read it.

• At first glance this is a very complicated information graphic which I think is over crowded because of the layout which has been chosen. 
• The facts on this information graphic are helpful and I like how they have used symbols to go next to each issue so the audience can pick and choose which bits they want to read. I think the flexibility of information graphics is really good as sometimes the viewer does not have to read all of the information. This is better than the viewer not reading any at all. 
• I think this poster could be re-designed to look very visually pleasing and I can see potential in this, especially with the already existing bold text, certain facts could be made to look more interesting and a visual hierarchy is starting to form with this poster. 

• These two poster designs are similar to the other black and white poster campaign I looked at previously but this has more interesting visual qualities. For example, I like how certain elements have been laid out such as the slight angle of shapes behind the text. 
• The simplicity of this poster is quite effective. It is not overload by facts which can sometimes put people off from reading. The simple designs are effective enough for the audience to know what the image is about without over-complicating the overall look of the poster. 
• I admire how different colour text has been used, especially on the second poster. I think this has been done just for visual purposes. 

• The colours used for this are yellow and black with some detailed parts added in the background of the poster. The yellow is very striking and immediately catches your attention, much like the other poster above. 
• The limited use of text is very effective and it engages the viewers rather than making them not want to read the text. 
• There are simple easy to read solutions to the problems of Idling on this poster. I do think more graphical imagery should be added to this poster to help people understand. 

• This is another photographic campaign poster. I think the background and text immediately make the viewer engaged with the poster. The text is most striking on this poster and then the blue elements catch the viewers attention after they have read the main text.
• I think this image is quite top heavy with text although they are trying to display the photo. I think the photo in the background could be improved by more editing because at first glance you notice the car and houses and then the smoke from the exhaust. The visual hierarchy could improved either by changing the colours in the background or reducing the amount of text at the bottom of the poster.  

• This is not a poster but I like how the typography is used here. I don't know if this will be relevant to my design work but it is inspiring to see other ways in which a problem is trying to be solved. 

• This ia a very illustrative approach to the problem. There is limited information about the problem but the poster speaks for itself. 
• Although I need to include text about Worcester in my poster, it is interesting to see a poster like this as a lot of the existing posters about Idling are very text heavy and do not have very visually striking images on them. 
• The red and black colours, along with the touch of yellow, really do catch your attention. I feel like with this sort of poster there does need to be more text supporting the image because I think people would take a glance at it and potentially not think about it again. 

• I really do not like this poster as I think it could be designed much better. The question mark blends into the frame surrounding the image and it does not make the text stand out. 
• Using green and blue does not make any part of the poster stand out and they are colours which should not be used together when creating a poster which should grab the audiences attention. 
• When you read the message it does make you think but I think this could be designed a lot better and possibly turned into an info graphic. 

• This poster has child-like qualities to it which can make the audience do a double take and then realise it is aimed at them.
• At first glance I do think this poster is very cluttered and there is no right balance between the text and illustrations. Maybe this could be a visual metaphor for the amount of pollution we are creating through idling? 
• I think the text used is overpowered by the imagery and is not clear enough to stand out against its background.
• I do like how half of the image is in black and white to represent pollution and the other half is green and happy to represent the life you can live if you choose to turn your idling engine off. 

• This poster reminds me of police, fire station, and quit smoking campaigns I have seen in the past. This is quite an effective way to create a campaign poster because it is using a certain layout and style of imagery as well as typography people are used to. Familiarity can be a key tool when designing a poster as people are almost guaranteed to double take 
• I like how the exhaust is used to look like a cigarette, implying to the viewer that idling your engine is just as bad for you health as smoking. This is a very effective way of campaigning as they are making an invisible problem visible but in a way we can relate.

• This is a very different poster in terms of its visual qualities. There is a small car at the bottom of the poster which is emitting pollution with text on top of this. 
• Although there is good information on this poster which makes the audience think about their actions I think a lot of people would overlook this image. 
• The use of the colour for the background does not represent pollution but it could represent the outcome of the action of turning an idling engine off. Blue represents calm and tranquillity so maybe the person(s) who designed this poster didn't want to add a scare factor but to create the opposite effect and reinforce it with information.  

This poster has the friends of the earth logo on it and I think this will be a company I will look into next to view their other campaigns and to gain an understanding of what the company does in relation to pollution but also other problems. 

Other Organisations & Campaigns

Friends of the Earth 

Friends of the earth is a movement who want to protect the planet inspired by the first images of Earth from space. They say that the earth looked so beautiful, yet vulnerable from those first photos that were taken and we need to protect our only home. 

They are a movement who will stand with anyone who cares about the world and on going environmental issues. They work with local groups, experts, business leaders and politicians to push about change for the planet. 

They have three main values which are 

• Protecting the planet and local environments. 
• Promoting safe and healthy food and water everywhere. 
• Supporting alternative energy which can change the world for the better. 

As a movement they believe each individual voice is louder and actions are more significant in supporting local communities, defending human rights and protecting nature. 

Campaigns (Friends of the Earth)

This is a campaign I want to look at in more detail as I will be creating a campaign poster for bee's. 

I really admire the colours used in the illustration for the background. I think it looks very eye-catching and it makes people want to buy into it. 

This is the bee saver kit which was advertised above in the above screenshot. The use of floral imagery against a blue background looks really effective. The design alone makes me want to buy this kit. This is the affect I want to create with my designs. I do want to add floral graphical imagery/ illustrations to my designs and I feel like this is a very good example. 

 The above are issues the friends of the earth are trying to solve with their bee starter kit to help bee's. Although it is not directly solving the problem, it will help keep bee's alive, especially when there is a growing number of people who chose to pave their gardens and get rid of plants and flowers. 

I did consider the possibility of including a seed starter kit on my poster. I think this would a good idea especially if these A5 posters my client wants will be posted to houses. I think a lot of people would be interested in this idea and this will be something I could talk about when I have finished my designs for this project. 

Other campaigns 

Friends of the Earth

Plastic Pollution 

Other 

WWF  (World Wildlife Fund)

The WWF is the worlds leading conservation organisation. Their aim is to create a world where  humans and animals can thrive together. 

They claim they are finding ways to help transform the future for the worls wildlife, rivers, forests and seas. They are pushing governments for a reduction in carbon emissions that they hope to avoid climate change. They are also pressing governments and communities to help people live sustainably. 

I admire how the WWF creates their posters in such a way which makes them easier for people to relate to and understand and I think these sort of images can apply to a broad audience, young and old but still communicate the message. 

This is a very eye opening campaign. It communicates that time is running out for these animals and that they are disappearing right in front of our eyes. These are haunting campaign posters. 

The poster above does not mean to scare monger people into not eating meat but rather to enjoy it responsibly. I think this sort of message can have a positive reaction from people. Negativity from a campaign poster could cause people to overlook and ignore it making the poster ineffective.

I think this poster is to do with the destruction of rain forest for palm oil which is found is cosmetics.Within the lipstick there is an image of a mother orangutan and her baby. This poster is made to shock the viewer and stir emotion to make them think about the products they buy.

Woodland Trust 

The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK. It is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native  woodland and It has planted over 43 million trees since the 1970's. 

The Woodland Trust three key aims:

• Protect ancient woodland which is rare, unique and irreplaceable.  
• Restoration of damaged ancient woodland.  
• Planting native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.

The Woodland has over 1,000 sites covering over 26,000 hectares. It ensures public access to its woods.

With the two posters above, the woodland trust use an eye catching statement. I think this is quite an important element to include on a poster as it makes the viewer want to know more, it adds shock value which can be important in a campaign. However, for my campaign posters I want to raise awareness without the use of green washing my posters which can put people off from reading and acknowledging the issue being raised. 

National Trust 

In 1895, Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley pledged to preserve historical and natural places. The aim of the national trust was not only to save important sites, but to make them available for the public to enjoy.

From these three  environmental pioneers, the National Trust was created and the original values have remained the same since 125 years ago which are: - 

• Integration - The conservation of natural and cultural heritage. 
• Change - Working with change, adapting and mitigating.
• Access and Engagement - Benefiting society and gaining support.
• Skills and Partnership - Developing skills and experience with others
• Accountability - Recording Decisions and sharing knowledge.
• Significance - Understanding and sharing knowledge to others.

I really like these signs above.They draw attention as the viewer is anticipating the sign to be a prohibition/ mandatory sign but when you get closer to read them, they encourage you to do what you originally thought the sign would discourage you to do. This sort of feature could be implemented on my poster design, but I would need to consider what it would say. "Attention, Worcester! Bee's Need YOU!" could be a potential example. 

I admire this poster design. I like how there is a boring piece of white paper where it looks like someone has torn it to reveal what lies behind. This poster screams "open your eyes" and I think this can be an effective design when used with the right subject, I could potentially think of a design solution to my problems using this sort of design but I would need to be careful as it could compromise the message if some incorrectly. 

Eden Project 

The Eden Project is a popular attraction in Cornwall, UK. Inside the two biomes are plants thats are collected from a few different continents of the world. The Eden Project is located at a reclaimed China Clay pit near St Austell.
The site contains two huge enclosures consisting of adjoining domes that are the home to thousands of plant species. Each enclosure emulates a natural biome. 

The four principles at the Eden Project are

• Educating people about the interconnections of life on earth.
• Inspiring people to see the world with awe and wonder but educating on the issues, consequences of climate change and threats to our natural world and the urgent need to act.
• Informing people to take realistic actions that can make a difference to the world. 
• Demonstrating hope by acting together.

Although I cannot find any particular campaign posters for the Eden project they have lead me to a wide array of other companies of whom they are in partnership with. Highways England is one which I have come across and their campaigns are quite powerful. 

Highways England 

Highways England operates, maintains, and improves England's motorways and major A roads. They do not manage all highways in Britain. 

Their total road network is about 4,300 miles, although this is only 2% of England's roads, they do carry one third of traffic and two thirds of heavy goods traffic.

Their ambition is to ensure major roads are more dependable, durable and safe which is why you sometimes see them on the motorways or other major A roads. 

I decided to look at the campaigns done by Highways England because they could potentially give me inspiration for when I design my roughs for the transport issue of idling. They do seem to use a log of photographic campaigns possibly representing that the issue is very much 'real' and it is no joke or not to be taken lightly. I quite like the typographic poster as it instantly draws your attention, especially with the red blood splatter beneath the rain drenched ink.
The campaigns above use shock to draw your attention as well as metaphors. I think this is a very strong way to approach an issue but could I apply this to my designs as I need to be informative?

This is a very different approach Highways England have taken with their designs. They have included very bold and striking colours here where it almost grabs your attention like a road sign. The use of bold colours is very eye catching and it does do its purpose of engaging the audience. This could be another style of poster design I could look at designing for my campaign posters. 

Other Campaigns

Adshel, Billboards and Flyer Campaigns

Billboards

Billboard advertising is the process of using a large-scale print advertisement to market a company, brand, product, service, or campaign. Billboards are typically placed in high traffic areas, such as along highways and in cities, so they’re seen by the highest number of drivers and pedestrians.

Billboard advertising is effective for building brand awareness and broadcasting campaigns as well as businesses and products to as many people as possible. They are usually in  busy areas which means billboards tend to have the highest number of views and impressions when compared to other marketing methods.

Adshel 

Bus shelter posters or adshels are everywhere in our towns, cities and along our roads. It’s estimated that a massive 92% of the UK population see bus shelter adshels every week. When you think of the numbers using public transport, driving and walking along our roads, this can be a very effective marketing technique when the design is effective. 

Social Media Campaigns