Assignment Four - 01

Save, Prevent, Kill - Phase One
What? Design a poster of theme (above). Text should not exceed 150words.

My initial theme is Save the Fishes, by stopping pollution. I use the “empathy approach” instead of the usual fear approach, by illustrating cartoon-like dead or unhappy fishes to invoke compassionate feelings to the viewers to do something about it.

Drafts/Ideas

	1. This draft shows the cause and effect of pollution matter-of-factly (ie. factory's fumes and rubbish kills the fishes). However, it does not invoke many feelings to the viewer.
	2. The upset fish in a life-saving float symbolizes that the fish needs saving. This can be integrated with the first draft (above) to show the fish among other dead fishes and unsightly trash.
	3. A different attempt to show how dumping garbage in the sea, poses a problem to fishes. Whales and sharks are known to swallow rubbish by accident. The stomach of the whale will be emphasized through darker solid colors compared to the duller faded colors of the whale.
	4. Here, I want to portray that human is the cause of the pollution but we can do our part in helping the fishes as well. This is depicted through the human hand which is the foundation of the factories but is shielding the fish from it as well.

My alternate theme is Save the Sharks by stopping shark finning activities. Civilians can help by boycotting shark fins soup, a popular Chinese delicacy sold in restaurants.

1. The purpose is to show that sharks are hurting from the finning, thus its fins and tails are replaced with bandages. The bandages appears to be rather out of place so the concept was further developed into draft #3 (below). I also played with the headings by replacing the alphabet A with a shark's fin.

2. This shows another perspective of the delicacy, shark's fin soup. The color of the soup is crimson red to symbolize blood. This draft uses more of a “fear approach” as the angle of the illustration is as if the viewer will be drinking the soup. Personally I felt this concept will have a better impact if the visual is an edited photograph so it is more realistic and viewers can immediately relate to their experience.

3. I retained the idea from the first draft depicting an injured shark. However, I gave the shark a human's personality here instead. Without its fins, the shark will be crippled and this impression is literally illustrated here with the crutches and wooden leg (tail). As the shark's fin is a distinct features to identify a shark, I was afraid removing it confuse the reader of its identity. hence, I added a faint fin that is dotted-out to show it's missing.