Secondary activities: Poster design to change the world
How many times do you see artwork and posters in one day? You might see several posters as you head to school each morning and move through public spaces. How many do you remember?
There are many different types of posters. Some aim to promote products, films, books or events. Others are part of a campaign – they aim to teach us something and sometimes also give us an action to take.
In this resource, we are going to explore:
- What is a campaign poster?
- Why we remember some, when others are easily forgotten?
We will explore posters as persuasive texts, and look at how graphic design is a way to ‘visually communicate’, to see how posters can be a clever way to communicate important messages in a fun and easy-to-understand way.
Drawing is one way to change the world, because you have to change the world by finding your voice; it’s something I found a voice in.
– Oxfam poster designer Steph Hughes, 2016
Secondary resources
The resource includes three linked sections:
Section 1: What makes a successful campaign poster?
Section 2: Exploring the history of the Oxfam campaign poster
Section 3: Designer Steph Hughes and the Oxfam brief
In each section of this resource there are readings, interviews, ideas and learning activities for art making and for developing critically and historically informed responses. Each part of each section covers the triad of global learning: Learn, Think and Act. Visual Arts, Design and Media Arts teachers may use this resource to develop a unit of work on campaign poster design or to develop a sequence of individual lessons.
DOWNLOAD TEACHER WORKBOOK – SECONDARY
Oxfam Australia thanks VADEA-NSW co-president Kathrine Kyriacou for creating this resource.
