PROJECT:  SOCIAL CAUSE POSTER

The topic of human trafficking is something that is considered to happen elsewhere, in other countries perhaps, in the shadows, with children who are immigrants, runaways, "lost," or exploited by their family members. As a 30 year veteran high school teacher, I thought I had "seen it all."  I was shocked and outraged to find out that a former student had been trafficked right under my nose, all while still living at home and intermittently attending classes.  It was a stunning revelation that deeply affected me, shattering any preconceived notions and stereotypes I had regarding this despicable scourge. The United Nations estimates worldwide earnings of over 150 billion dollars annually through modern slavery. This misery is happening in every town, USA.  

I wanted a minimalist look to the poster, with limited text and color. The font had to be very simple and clear, with the red hand jumping out as the letter "O." I was thinking in terms of letting the photo "speak" what the subject was, rather than informative text.  I chose the word "slavery" instead of "trafficking" for more impact, thinking that I should call it what it is.  I relied on the poignant portrait of the child for the impact I wanted, and deliberately left in the black eye and dirty fingernails to further emphasize the desperate reality of this problem. 

The choice of the child's portrait was important, and it was challenging to find just the right fit. I needed a wider age range, an undetermined ethnicity, and a vagueness with the gender. This was important to me to impart the fact that this can affect anyone, anywhere, including grown adults and senior citizens. This child is a metaphor for "every person."

I had seen the barcode used with this hard-hitting topic before, but not in the way I used it. There is no room for ambiguity with this subject.  The barcode is rather shocking, but so is selling/trading human beings as commodities.  My teacher suggested lowering the opacity on it for a smoother look. I also curved it to match the curvature of the cheek.  

I wanted to see the palm lines/prints and finger prints on the hand image.  These were lacking in Pixabay, so I used my own hand at the suggestion of my teacher. I like the symbolic meaning as it turned out:  Everyone can have a hand in education and prevention, especially with teaching youth the signs of grooming by predators, either online or in person. 

The images below represent my work in progress to arrive at the final image.