AAD010 Introducing Studio Practice by Kyslyn Tun

Posters, billboards, placards and signs are a form of public expression. As well as this, graphic design plays its part to influence and encourage the public to participate and get involved with the movement. Designers will use their abilities and creative skills to do this, displaying eye-catching graphics, images and logos to gain attention from the viewer and appeal to them. In this case, these methods are used to present how people need to come together and help to tackle the effects of climate change on our planet.

According to a NASA study on global climate change, the global temperature has risen 0.8 degrees since 1880, causing drought and heat waves. We have had very warm summers and mild weather in later months of the years; even though it’s November, we’ve had sunny weather and often not very low temperatures. Furthermore, a study released by The Cryosphere shows that in the 1990s, 760 billion tons per year was lost, but in the 2010s, it increased to more than 1.2 trillion tons per year. Additionally, the increased amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from pollution gets dissolved in the ocean, therefore making it more acidic and causing extinction of aquatic wildlife. For example, anyone who has owned a pet fish knows that the pH of the water in the tank must be carefully controlled, if it is even slightly off, then the fish can die. The same applies to our oceans.

Our environmental movement is called ‘Change Ahead’. This has an ambiguous meaning; if in the positive way, it means that there is change ahead in our generation where we fight to tackle climate change and preserve the Earth. On the other hand, if meant in the negative way, it could be seen as a warning that if nothing is done to tackle climate change, there will be change ahead where the future generations will no longer live safely and have to deal with the damages climate change has done to the planet. The symbols within the logo represent how irreversible climate change is and that the damage it causes to the planet is permanent. Beverley had designed these logos; the middle left is the standard logo while the middle right is a more detailed version. The two on the outside were some of our other ideas.

Based on the initial logo, we wanted to get the public involved in our protest and contribute their creativity while being inclusive and accessible. Beverley and I designed some stickers and decals that we would be giving out to people who wanted to make their own posters, placards and signs. This would let them share their ideas and participate, while still carrying the meaning and intent of protesting for climate change. Beverley designed the sticker ideas on the left, while I designed the sticker sheet on the right. At the protests we would also be giving out boards and card for people to create their signs right in the moment of the event, also using the stickers we provided.

These are some designs that we had came up with, both as posters to display in public areas and as signs to hold up during the protest. As pictured, all of them feature our key logo: the reversible symbol with a cross symbol in front of it, placing significance on the impact on climate change on the planet. All of these designs were made by Holly, Beverley and Jasmine.

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