Roses Student Awards 2012 Submission
Brief – Wot R U Doin?
Revive the power of the written word. Why? Recent surveys indicate that SMS txtn is impacting on young people’s ability to spell correctly and read and write above a 5th grade level :( And get this - in George Orwell’s dystopian fiction “1984”, he foresaw that excessive usage of short words would lead to reduced intellectual and linguistic capacity, damaging both the English language and our inclination to use a range of words to express a feeling. Fix it.
Solution
Textspeak is born of two factors; haste and laziness. These must be countered in order to promote the written word. We must promote craftsmanship in language, the joy of word-play, the art of wordsmithery.
I imprinted bars of soap with warnings about the erosion caused by Textspeak knowing that as they are used, that very warning upon its surface would disappear with time, thus reminding the user of the plight facing the written word and language in general.
These bars of soap were presented in handmade boxes highlighting the importance of craft. In addition they were accompanied by a book of creeds dismissing Textspeak and extolling the importance of word-play.
The Identity
A powerful, succinct logo was necessary for the brand. It had to make an immediate and lasting impact on the viewer so as to capture their attention and fit with the strong language accompanying the campaign.
The Composition
A smithing hammer is forged with a pen nib showing the intentions of the Wordsmiths to craft with pen and hand. Encompassed in a ribbon to convey the elegance of word play, the central elements combine to create a 'W' representing the word, 'Wordsmiths'.
A book comprising of ten creeds all promoting the virtues of the written word. The creeds begin with "Through Craft We..." before adding a positive-sounding verb that encourages the use of language.
The soap was imprinted with the Wordsmiths logo and a warning about the erosion of Textspeak. As the bar of soap is used, the message fades away, offering a metaphor for the way in which Textspeak will erode language if left unchecked.
