POSTER DESIGN
WINNER
Afghanistan’s First All-Female Orchestra
by Williams Murray Hamm, for St John’s Orchestra
The Orchestra of St John’s (OSJ) is a charity that “passionately believes music has the power to transform lives”, according to Williams Murray Hamm, which created a commemorative poster for Afghanistan's first all-female orchestra’s concert in Oxford. The event, which was organised by OSJ, looked to help support the music education of those involved in the orchestra, and WMH’s poster was mailed out as a thank you to the supporters of the charity.
The design was based on that of the handwoven wool rugs that symbolise Afghan culture and are often used as a stage. “Traditionally weavers used to conceal themselves and messages within their design, and during war time, 'war rugs' were produced,” says WMH. “We thought a rug would be the perfect canvas to depict the Orchestra's incredible journey from hardship to musical harmony.”
The design incorporates war apparatus alongside more traditional icons, and a women's charity from Kabul was commissioned to produce the rug, which was then photographed to create the poster with copy contained in the “care label”. The posters were sent to supporters in a rubble sack, which are traditionally used to dispatch Afghan rugs.
The judges said: “A true standout piece, with original ideas that are extremely well executed and attention to even the tiniest of details making this a brilliant design. The dedication and commitment to the cause of the poster echoes that of the OSJ – the information on the care label adds an extra level for a great idea to ‘storytell’.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Hope is Power
by Uncommon Creative Studio, for The Guardian
Like all news organisations, The Guardian had suffered sales-wise over the past few decades and so, in 2016, embarked on a strategy to encourage online readers to support it financially, without introducing a paywall. By early 2019, the publication broke even for the first time in recent history and saw more than one million people give monetary support. However, this represents just 5% of regular online readers, so Uncommon Creative Studio was tasked with doubling its supporter base to two million by 2022 across the UK, USA and Australia.
The campaign centred on the Guardian’s values and the fact no one owns it – attributes that are “particularly powerful in times of uncertainty,” says the studio. Aware it had to do something different to NYT’s ‘Truth’ campaign, and that increasing numbers of people were avoiding news in the belief they were powerless over its events, Uncommon looked to Kath Viner’s essay published when she became editor-in-chief in 2015 — namely her statement “The mission of the Guardian since 1821: to use clarity and imagination to build hope”. This led to the campaign ‘Hope is Power’; and on its launch week in September 2019 the publication saw its highest financial contributions of the year. Almost 400 subscriptions and contributions worth more than £23,000 came in from the campaign’s landing page.
‘In Fabric’ film poster
by Intro, for Artificial Eye/Rook Films
Julian House, creative director at agency Intro, has long collaborated with director Peter Strickland, and created the title sequence for his 2018 film In Fabric, as well as designing the posters for the Q&A tour and theatrical release. Described as “vintage fashion meets vintage anatomy chart”, the design, commissioned by the film’s distributors Artificial Eye/Rook Films, looks to encapsulate the film’s comic horror feel. The poster references the department store catalogue featured in the film, “disintegrating to reveal surreal macabre imagery hidden behind a seemingly glamorous picture,” as Intro puts it. The poster was nominated for the Screen Awards’ Poster of the Year.
Me/We Poster
by Pentagram
Pentagram’s Me/We poster was created for the global touring poster exhibition ‘Tolerance’, spearheaded by designer and comic artist Mirko Ilić. The brief for the posters was to fit in with a collection that makes a “universal call for empathy and fortitude through art”. Other graphic design contributions were made by the likes of Milton Glaser and Chaz Maviyane-Davies; and exhibitions have been held in at least 27 countries.
Dodo
by Studio Sutherl&, for Extinction Rebellion
Studio Sutherl& was asked to produce a limited-edition print to be sold at an auction organised by Accept and Proceed in aid of Extinction Rebellion. It chose to use the image of the dodo to symbolise extinction, which was screen printed onto recycled paper using two brightly coloured inks which merge into one another across the print to form a dark brown tone. “We wanted to produce a simple print that encouraged people to think about the fate of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus) which was extinct by 1700, about a century after its discovery in 1598,” says Studio Sutherl& . “We wanted people to consider the potential repercussions of taking action, or no action, to stop the climate crisis.”
POSTER DESIGN
