Final posters

After variety of creative explorations, research, sketch book work, interviews, evaluation and analysis, here are the final posters. They aim to raise awareness of Asperger Syndrome in young adults. There primary audience is young adults. Sheffield Aspergers Parents Action Group and myself are hoping to have them featured within Doctors surgeries, Universities and Colleges in the Sheffield area.

Photography

I then began the shots for the posters. I initially tried printing the quotes onto A2 boards and photographing people holding them. However, upon further evaluation I realised that the text lost its sharpness in the final image. So I then photographed people holding blank boards so that I could insert  the text on the computer. Here are some of the shots I took. I used a variety of people. Some of the people are selected by Sheffield Aspergers Parents Action Group and myself to stand in for the adults with Asperger Syndrome and family members.

Chosen poster font and text

See below for final text that will be featured on a total of 5 campaign posters that raise awareness of Asperger Syndrome in adults. Each final computer generated version is also accompanied by its sketchbook counter part:

 

Font Style

I felt that more experimentation needed to occur regarding the font style. I tried individual handwriting and hand drawn fonts. Through evaluation and analysis I eventually came to the conclusion that hand drawn Century Gothic gave the best result. The 'roundness' of the letters gave the fonts space to be hand drawn yet still be clear to read. The font was the easiest to read so it therefore allowed the quote to 'speak for itself'. Please see below for sketch book pages and font experimentation's:

Handwriting

Individual handwriting decreased the impact of the quote. It made the quote appear informal and light hearted. I believed that this devalued the message of the quote. Using handwriting would also raise the issue of eligibility (there is no point in having a campaign poster if you can't read it.) I also had the idea of asking the adults with AS to write their own. However, some adults with Asperger Syndrome struggle to write.

Taking these initial shots also raised other questions such as: where should the hands go on the board? How high should the board be held?  What clothes should the people be wearing? What colour?

Hand drawn fonts

Hand drawn Century Gothic was the best font to use after a process of analysis and evaluation. I also reintroduced the 'little snippets' of information about Asperger Syndrome and the individual to add an informative and also a personal touch.

Hand drawn American Typewriter:

Hand drawn Myriad Pro Bold:

Hand drawn Century Gothic = chosen poster font.

Turning point

I liked the handwritten approach as I felt this gives the quotes a 'personal touch'. However I was not keen on the text hierarchy and mix of fonts. The cooper black font distracts away from the message the poster is trying to convey.

I also liked the photographic idea as including a person makes it more relatable. By including an image it could also show that the adults with AS are proud of who they are/the families are proud of their relatives. By holding the boards they are holding a statement about themselves and projecting it on the world to make everyone more aware of Asperger Syndrome within adults. Including a mix of family members would also show the variety of people that AS impacts.

So I decided to combine the handwritten and typographic approaches (see below). However more experimentation needs to take place regarding the font style.

The 4 approaches

I have narrowed down my campaign ideas into 4 approaches: handwritten, typographic, conversational and photographic. I have also added the Sheffield Aspergers Parents Action Group logo and colours to move the campaign ideas forward.

Handwritten

I took two quotes and drew round every individual letter. I wanted the writing to look the same but have an element of individuality. I felt that this reflects Asperger Syndrome as each individual presents differently but often outwardly appear to have the same level of AS. Here are my initial drawings and poster ideas:

I also would like to include little 'snippets' of information about AS:

I also felt that they would need a personal touch by simply adding the name and a little background information:

Poster ideas:

Typographic

I really liked adding the qualities of Asperger Syndrome within the lettering. However, in the context of a campaign poster, this approach is too intricate and time consuming for the viewer. The viewer would have to stand and read it for a while to appreciate what the poster was trying to convey. The posters need to be eye catching. I do not think this approach achieves this. Here are some sketches and initial poster idea:

Conversational

This approach moves my 'cut out' style forward by adding the Sheffield Aspergers Parents Action Group colours. I have tried the same quote 3 different ways to see which effect works best. However, the amount of text and starkness of the American Typewriter font in black on white makes the message confusing to read, the eye often stuggles to find which line to follow. See below for experimentation's:

 

 

Photographic

Throughout the previous approaches I felt that there was a 'human' element missing. Including someone within the poster makes it more relatable to the target audience. However, this raises questions regarding ethics. Should you really include someone who has AS? Will this label them as having AS? How will I protect their anonymity? After talking to S.A.P.A.G it became apparent that I would not be able to show the faces and would need to use 'stand ins' to represent the person with AS. Here is my solution: