Margaux Worrall

Mia, Michelle T & Margaux

Although all 94 ‘Calls to Action’ hold equal merit, we were particularly drawn to the 74th ‘Call’ made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The emotional nature of this child-focused call to Action’ inspired us to create a campaign that recognizes and addresses this plea with the greatest sense of urgency. Our campaign ‘The Way Home’ spotlights the missing children who were lost to the Residential School System, while providing a platform where commemoration requests can be accommodated. It is through public interaction, involvement, and empathy that our campaign has the means to provide long-overdue closure for the Indigenous families affected by the Residential School Era. 

The beginning stages of our campaign involved mind-mapping exercises to accumulate our initial ideas. Once we had a solid campaign direction, we created a corresponding mood board. The main challenge we faced throughout was in the visual execution of this sensitive subject matter. To respectfully embody our ‘Call to Action’, we came to our somber yet emotionally responsive solution. During the early stages of this project, we also consulted with Bracken Hanuse Corlett, an Indigenous artist from the Wuikinuxv and Klahoose Nations, to ensure we were executing this campaign respectfully. 

Our final brand identity reflects an adolescent/nostalgic tone while carrying a subtle sophistication. Through a combination of visual elements, we hope to evoke an emotional and proactive response from our target. As for the campaign’s typography, we utilized Courier New and Arial Black to embody nostalgia and a sense of urgency. In addition, we included bold, orange accents to pay homage to the “Orange Shirt Day” campaign.

As for the name of our campaign, ‘The Way Home’ naturally evolved from our tagline which reads: “Bring the children home…for good.” This statement represents the closure families may experience once they can properly commemorate their loved ones alongside the feelings associated with coming home. Additionally, this statement incorporates the double entendre “for good” which expresses both closure and pure intent. 

The purpose of the desk exhibition is to represent the children who fell victim to the Residential School System. On the seat of each desk, a list of recorded victims is included and the complete number of children is revealed when presented together. Their absence is also represented by the emptiness of each seat. This exhibition is intended to exist in a public space such as the Vancouver Art Gallery to encourage public interaction alongside ongoing donations. It is accompanied by a sign to provide further campaign information.

The ‘Action Needed’ poster is designed to resemble a “missing person” poster. However, instead of representing a single individual, our poster speaks to the missing action presented in call #74. Alone, this poster provides sufficient grounds for action, but when displayed as 2,200 prints on a banner (the number of victims who still need to be accounted for) it has a far greater impact.

Lastly, we created our online platforms to provide further information on the subject matter, for donation details, and to instill brand identity.

SELF EVALUATION

This project was challenging on both emotional and tangible levels. However, it was these challenges that pushed us to successfully meet our self-constructed brief. We believe our campaign has succeeded in evoking an emotional response from its target while respecting the Residential School victims and their families. Through strong communication and open-mindedness, we built off of each other’s ideas to create impactful final solutions. Although we encountered obstacles throughout the design process, we are proud of the outcome and the consistent brand identity. 

PROCESS WORK

MindMapping

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Concept development

Mia, Michelle T & Margaux

What: Missing Children and Burial Info

Who: General public

We must be careful with who we share this information with as it is quite sensitive and triggering. At the same time, we acknowledge that this information/knowledge should be accessible to all and/or should be something most are aware of.

Concentrated Objective: 

• To make information regarding missing children and burial sites of residential school victims accessible to the affected families

• To properly commemorate/show respect towards the victims and their families

• To facilitate public awareness and involvement in hopes people can be further educated and or provide a platform for more information to be gathered on these sensitive subjects

Although the government has taken action to commemorate 3,800 deaths by the residential school system, approximately 2,200 victims still need to be accounted for.

General Objective: To spread awareness and build empathy within the general public regarding the corrupt nature of the residential school system and its lasting effects on the Indigenous community. It is crucial that people in Canadian society recognize and are educated on the injustices and trauma the Indigenous community has withstood by the government and church authorities.

Research Links:

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/constitution-act-1982

https://www.national.ca/en/perspectives/detail/no-perfect-answer-first-nations-aboriginal-indigenous/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/thousands-of-canadas-indigenous-children-died-in-church-run-boarding-schools-where-are-they-buried/2018/10/19/afd35060-cb25-11e8-ad0a-0e01efba3cc1_story.html

https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2019/09/30/thousands-of-indigenous-children-died-in-canadian-residential-schools-now-we-know-some-of-their-names.html

https://capilanou.kanopy.com/video/beyond-shadows

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools

As a group we began verbally brainstorming ideas of possible scenarios that our person (Colin Jones) might find himself in.

The first idea we stuck on was about Instagram as Colin is an avid user on the app. From there we discussed Colins process on Instagram; how he got from point A to point B and what was the result.

Our second and third idea were surrounded more the idea of him as a student. We decided on a set up of booths around the campus, and with Colin being more of a visual person, we thought it would fit best if it was nice looking merchandise that would intice him to visit a booth. From there, we leaned on Colins interest into activism and self-betterment to follow through the story line.

As a group, it was understood that we wanted to create a negative scenario. Knowing that it couldn’t be the topic or the visuals that would turn Colin away from Global goals, we created an outsider variable. It would then be a mixture of bad timing and an annoying person that would through Colin off of global goals.

We then added the emotions felt to each box.

After discussing with the team, we decided on option 2 as it gave us both a dynamic story to tell and illustrate.

An opinion piece

Canada has never been known for its design. Historically, influential designers came from Europe, and when New York took over Paris’s role as the major art city, those designers migrated to the United States and not to Canada. Personally, I think Canada lacks personality. We have no voice in the design world, and for the small amount of voices we do have, their success is better found in our neighboring country.

I also believe that indigenous design has never received the credit or platform it deserves. The indigenous design has long-lasting roots, a beautiful yet equally painful history, a distinctive style, and incredible craftsmanship. I would personally love to discuss and showcase work, but I personally don’t feel as though I have the accreditation to do so. I have extremely surface knowledge, and I do not come from a background that ties me to that culture. What might be a beautiful piece of art or design in my eyes, most likely has extreme spiritual, historical and sentimental value to First Nations that I would not be able to express.

I feel that our ‘important’ present-day designers have a certain stiff and corporate feel to them. Those feelings are probably caused by the little care I have for Canadian design and the fact that some things I see that seem to englobe Canadian design does not inspire me.

However, I do think that Canadian design is at a turning point, with multiculturalism playing a massive part. We aren’t there yet, but from my time at BCIT studying graphic design and my first year at Capilano in the IDEA program, I have been lucky enough to see multiple young designers from different ethnic backgrounds, all bringing something different and beautiful to the table. It is clear that new and young designers want to have fun and hopefully, that will be showcased as Canadian design in the coming future.

I own a book called “The look of the century” by Michael Tambini which is about the “changing progression in clothing, transportation, product, and architectural design during the twentieth century, providing information on the most important art movements, key designers, and interesting developments and innovations from each decade”. What I loved so much about it when I was younger was the fact that it was practically a picture book filled with unusual objects that amazed me.

My sister and I had even made a game for the book where we would flip a page as quickly as possible and point at the object that we would want in our imaginary home. The only rule was you couldn’t choose the same one. At the time, I obviously had no notion of any design movements, let alone post-modernism but looking back now, there was 1 piece of furniture that marked me. Out of every single thing in that massive book, it was my favorite. I loved the colors, the unusual shape but most of all the utility of it.

I now come to find out it was The Spacestor (fig.1) by Ettore Sottsass. A masterful post-modern shelf made by one of the most important figures of the movement. This recent discovery was a full-circle moment for me. Something I loved so much as a child was coming back to me through my studies.

Italy was the capital of the post-modern movement in Europe, and Sottsass was leading it. Post-modern was fresh and avant-garde. It was loud, messy, confrontational and contrasting. It was everything that modernism was not. The Memphis group, founded by Sottsass, conducted some of the most memorable designs, that some even considered the group to be in a movement of their own.

However, their style was commercially rejected. Europe was not yet over the minimalist and timeless look of modernism. Post-modernism was too drastic and different for commercial use. However, with time, what was once only popular in the Northern parts of Italy, had spread across Europe and had become approved by design enthusiasts and the general public. Figures like such as Karl Lagerfeld (fig.2) and David Bowie had both created huge personal collections of furniture from the Memphis Group.

Post-modernism became a sensation. With their design of the Bacterio Print (fig.3), the Memphis group became the visual symbol of the ’80s. It could be found everywhere. MTV, Baskin Robbins, and Taco Bell. However, it’s growing popularity became its demise. With its designs becoming more commercialized and main-stream, post-modernism was no longer avant-garde. It had lost its spunk and the philosophy surrounding its roots were no longer represented. By the 1990s, Post-Modern was seen as gimmicky and bad taste and was once again rejected.

Some say that there will be a comeback, with more designers looking to the past for inspiration, and the present popularity of the big bold graphic look, it wouldn’t surprise me to see post-modernism come back to light.

Work Cited.

https://spacestor.com/insights/postmodernism-design/

https://spacestor.com/insights/postmodernism-design/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/postmodernism-philosophy

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/postmodern-design-complete-celebrates-20th-centurys-controversial-movement/

https://www.newhomesource.com/learn/postmodern-design/

Images

Figure. 1

https://spacestor.com/media/scaled_images/insights/2017/07/Carlton-room-divider_big.jpg

Figure 2

https://www.we-heart.com/upload-images/karllagerfeldmemphis1@2x.jpg

Figure 3

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/bd/62/9ebd62735a9a85bbf1fa99d5ba562858.jpg

Lindsey Lanpher

Very little is known about Lindsey Lanpher’s personal life. The only time frame that can be found is the list of her awards and jobs she’s had with her most recent job as creative director of BHH. Lindsey began as a junior copywriter for Brooklyn Brothers in New York and worked her way up the ladder. CEO of Anomaly, Mike Bryne named her “a writer’s writer”, describing her work as “powerful” and “sincere”, all of which I completely agree with. Her work is extremely immersive and has a great sensibility to the audience.

She can create environments familiar to us and connect them to the brand or the message. My favorite of her numerous advertisements is the television ads for HBO GO. It is problem-solving at its best. She takes a humorous spin on streaming on the go by showcasing a multitude of problems that are in the same space all of which can be avoided with the given product. From the targeted audience to the set of the shoot, every part is cohesive and brilliant.

Work Cited

“Copywriter / Creative Director / Writer / Lindsey Lanpher.” Working Not Working, workingnotworking.com/73230-lindsey.

“Latest Work: Hold Up.” Lindsey Lanpher, lindseylanpher.com/.

“Lindsey Lanpher.” RSS, www.adsoftheworld.com/creative/lindsey_lanpher.