I  am currently taking the Graphic Design course called Production Design at SCAD and for our latest project, the entire class was given a theme from which we were to create a 12″x18″ folding poster.  In our case, we landed upon the theme of water issues.  Being a folded poster, we had to take note on how it was to open and try to show parts of a complete story as each new visible area is revealed.  So, the opening action is just as important as the actual finished poster.  And, one of the key requirements for this poster was that it had to conform to postal code so that it can be mailed. So, with challenge in hand, I delved into research.

After researching various water issues I stumbled upon the charity: water website through the recommendation of a classmate.  I found what they are doing very compelling and interesting.  The facts about unclean water that they have presented (as well as other sources) is unbelievable.  I mean, it is ridiculous that we use more water flushing our toilets then some people use for their entire day.   Then the water they do use, ends up doing very bad things to them and kills more people each day then any kind of violence including war. It is some pretty crazy stuff, check out the site at: www.charitywater.org

For my poster, I found myself inspired by the 2nd video they have in the gallery that really depends on text animation and stats.  I have a great respect for the motion graphic artists that can use just text to convey powerful feelings and messages.  So, for this project I wanted to sort of capture this motion graphic feeling in print.  I wanted my text to have action, to feel as if its moving, without actually doing anything. Obviously I cannot achieve the true animation, but by playing with the text I hope to achieve a sort of fast paced read that ends in the final image on the back.

To start this project, I began by building a mock up and seeing how the actual piece would unfold.  This is important because while each section of the poster is a small rectangle, some rectangles appear together or have to be designed upside down so that they are right reading when opened correctly.  A tip for anyone doing project with any kind of fold…BUILD A MOCK UP.  Write on each side “UP” so you know when you unfold it how the final piece should be arranged. I have to say that this mock up helped me constantly throughout the design process, so I could look back on it and make sure I was doing everything right.

From my mock up, I was able to start sketching out sections. I knew I wanted the poster to be mostly typographical, so I used my research and pulled facts out that made sense to help make up my images.  I wanted the entire poster to be one complete story.  Each section would tie into the previous and lead to the next.  What resulted was this story:

Why Water? Because 1 in 6 people do not have access to clean water. And cholera, typhoid, bacillary disentry, polio, meningitis, hepatitis a and e, and diarrhoea love dirty water. In fact, unclean water kills more people everyday then all kinds of violence, including war.  But, you can help! By donating 20 dollars, a well can be built. And instead of 4900 children dying from unclean water each day, you have 20 years of fresh clean water. Donate hope, one drop at a time.

To create this story, I had built the text as if it was water itself…The first “opening sequence depicts a facet with dirty water coming out and pouring into a glass filled with disease and death.  Again, I made sure to stick with my previous concept of action text and portrayed everything with type.  When I got to the second opening sequence…I was confronted with the problem of creating a flow with too much information.  I wanted the eye to move fast down through the ground all the way to the end where they get the message “fresh clean water.” My intention for this part was the eye to not stop and get all the way down to the bottom. Therefore, the information is step up so that your eye can move down different paths and the message still makes sense.  It might seem confusing at first but I think once a viewer reads the entire thing (any way they wish) they realize that the whole thing still makes sense.  And you still have a fast pace read to the end.

For the final part of the poster, the full back piece I wanted it to be a bigger message and also be standalone.  Therefore, the image had to be a bit detached from the original narrative.  This is the part of the poster that someone might hang up and couldn’t be dependent on information on the back.  For this, I went with an image of the globe. It is an easily recognizable symbol but buildings it out of water gives a bit of an “Aha” factor.  I still feel it ties into the original story, just expands upon it to a global scale.

Overall, I feel that this poster is successful.  The way the text reads gives the feeling of motion – the main theme I wanted to capture.  It also got many comments from professionals of, “a poster someone might actually read instead of tossing” (which I am quite proud of). Oh, and it also successfully made it through the mail with one 42 cent stamp – woo hoo!