We at theMatchFactory, who were behind this Poster to the Poster project, have just launched a new site with a new focus. Please visit us, read a bit of our history and keep up on new projects and happenings. As of now, this is the last post for the PttP blog. We see theMatchFactory as our place for continued writing on design, culture, politics, change and activism. Thank you for visiting. This site will remain active in 2010, so please, keep downloading those posters.

As for 2009, you can watch Hope, War and Resistance. It’s a nice recap. -jk-

Design motives in a trendy marketplace.

I’m not a community organizer. I’m not a scientist. I’m not a journalist or someone who rallies a crowd with a powerfully moving speech. I’m not an electrician, a businessman, a mechanic or a waiter. I happen to be a designer.

I like using visual communication to convey information or to inspire people to action. I like working with different types of people from different backgrounds who have different needs and goals in our visual, media-driven culture. And I take the need for us all to be citizens in this increasingly complicated world seriously. That’s why I find it refreshing to see the good design movement really begin to take hold.

It isn’t hard to see how designers can be out of touch at times. We can come off like our only responsibility is to “the design,” that our role begins and ends there. We simply make a piece of visual communication beautiful and let the magic of the marketplace move the shoes, the Cokes/Pepsis, the coal trains. But looking at our job so narrowly – simply acting as accomplices to that derivative, that oil spill, that lust to be thin – is not a good thing. Are we comfortable being an army of little capitalists so immersed in the “free market” that we refuse to ask the tough questions and only seek to flex our aesthetic muscle?

To design for a project is to support it. What the good design movement is doing is essentially communicating our support of equality, sustainability, fairness and hope. We are stepping out of our comfort zones, looking at what exactly it is we do all day and finding opportunities to build rather than just sell. We know that design should work not only to better itself, but our communities as well – both local and global. So why is good design the target of criticism?

People often question the motives of designers who work on social projects, saying “they just want to feel better about themselves,” and it’s frustrating. What’s wrong with designers wanting to feel better about themselves and their work? Why isn’t anyone questioning the motive of designers working on Nike, Coke or Pepsi accounts? Just what do we want design to be?

Do we really want our best visual communication to be in favor of Burger King? Do we really want our finest efforts going toward shoes? Is this the rightful place for design? Should the best creative minds of our generation be so focused on high-gloss dishonesty?

I don’t think so. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that many other designers don’t think so either.

We have to get past the “we design and that’s our only responsibility” mentality. When we design, our choices matter, our intentions matter. That’s why we’re all designers anyway, right? We like to be seen and share in the world at large. All these good design efforts – professionals and students actually giving a damn about what’s happening out there and wanting to help make things better – is a profoundly good thing. Trend? Maybe. Seismic shift? Let’s hope so.

Whether we like it or not, designers do pick sides, just like fonts and color palettes. Which side are we better suited for: The fast-paced, high-gloss of a Just Do It campaign, or the slow, messy process of designing a more fair and equal place to live?

Justin Kemerling is working toward being a community activist designer, justinkemerling.com.

some wishful thinking: we, the united states of america, given all of our wealth, power and influence, in this new era of global cooperation, in the face of daunting challenges, have decided, in the interest of our citizens at home and all people across the world, that we are indeed, leading the way in a binding resolution, signed on the dotted line, that yes, we are ready to remake the energy economies of civilization. petty bickering, utter stupidity, corrupt profit motives, and dishonest fearmongering have been checked at the door, and our beloved president, barack obama, steps out onto the world stage, and whips into order action on such a scale as to call it greatness in motion, a new day dawning, in the nick of time, good news despite the bad news staring us in the face. now, this day, we unite in the cause for true climate justice, paying our climate debts, and setting right the course we all, as a community of nations, will now pursue.

those words still echo in my ear from one year ago today: “change has come to america.”

what kind of change? a new voice of leadership for the new energy economy, ultimately leading to a sustainable future.

those weren’t empty words for me. they were a verbal agreement. obama leads, we the people, tell him where to go. into the future, heads held high, proud to be global citizens, in one ass-kicking hell of a good time. it certainly isn’t every day you decide to remake the world and really mean it. cop15 is such a day.

designers, get to communicating it’s importance. -jk-

as designers, citizens, lovers, people, we are here to do things. to shape this world. by our own hands, to create a more fair and just society.

our current reality is a complex, confrontational one. there are sides, divisions, and walls. we are looking at a world driven mad by a wall street investor mentality, mired in consumerism, hiding behind militarism, losing our way by hyper-individualism, and saying to ourselves, ENOUGH!

as people, we need communities that look good and feel right.

as lovers, we need those communities to welcome everyone.

as citizens, we need a universal declaration for those communities.

as designers, we need to show what those communities will look like, and inspire their creation.

at the expense of private ruthlessness we are advocating for the public good. it is well past time to pick sides, to remove divisions, and to take down walls.

it will be for workers, for the environment. now, it is for health care. our time for communities that look good and feel right is coming. we will go beyond our fear of the future, and we will shape it. -jk-

what is service, and how do we get people excited about it? that’s where we started. where we’re at today is a focus on the idea of making our communities better by doing whatever it is we as people do. as designers and visual storytellers we’re part of a movement of artists, writers and creative culture makers who have set out to use our work to help build a better world. we designed a project around this idea and put it out there in hopes of getting people excited about service and making things better.

whatever (this) is, well that’s up to you, the visitor. in a general sense, everywhere we look — our schools, our health, our workers, our country, our planet — we are in need of serious improvement. yet, by volunteering our time, talents and energy people are making a difference every single day. it’s that special d.i.y. attitude in our local communities that has profound impact.

on this site we’ve come a long way. we’ve commented, critiqued, inspired, motivated, and celebrated. we’ve walked that thin line between cynicism and hope, anger and action. we are now asserting ourselves on the side of ideas over intolerance, building rather than belittling, love over hatred, “we’re all in the same boat” instead of “you’re on your own, this is my boat.” there’s just too much to be done if we want to get to a vibrant and robust society based on those democratic principles of freedom and equality FOR EVERYONE.

we’ve met a lot of great people since we started this site and look forward to more projects that create hope, change and progress. in the spirit of optimism, service and working together, onward! -jk-

for inspiration and ideas, please visit:

urban arts partnership
rock the vote
causecast
united we serve
current tv
nextaid
dosomething.org
takepart
the mighty united
serve.gov

We are pleased to announce the launch of PowerToThePoster: CitizenGallery. 

This online gallery of 30 posters is a selection of the most moving designs from PowerToThePoster.org. A panel of designers and activists offered insight on the work that was the most compelling and those posters are now being offered to the public as 15×24 and 24×38 prints. 

The posters are digitally printed at photographic resolution by Elevate Printing in Chicago, Illinois. Poster sizes are 15×24 inches and 24×38 inches to strategically minimize waste in the production process. The posters are printed on HP Coated Paper using water based archivable, photographic inks to achieve the best colors that will last for decades.

The project is a collaboration between theMatchFactory, Elevate Printing, our gracious panel of design activists and the many citizen designers who took it upon themselves to make bold statements with their designs in an effort to help make a better world.

The price system for the 30 posters you can purchase through our online store is 1 part Artist, 1 part Printer, 1 part Cause.

each regular size poster (15×24 inches) is sold for $20. $10 going to the artist for their creative work and $10 to the printer for their effort. we simply ask you, that if you’re ordering a poster from this project, that you take an additional $10 we would have charged you but didn’t, and donate that to a cause. one that’s local in your community that could use the support, such as a peace, climate action, independent media, or democracy group. or a food bank or homeless shelter. or an international group dealing with hunger, justice, equal opportunity, and seeking to create a more just and equitable society. whatever it is that moves you and is in need of your support.

this same formula applies to the large format prints. each poster (24×38) is sold for $40. $20 to the artist, $20 to the printer, $20 to a cause of your choice. when you purchase a poster, please let us know which cause you chose to advance with your donation. who you supported and how that organization has a positive impact.

this way we give you, the global citizen, the freedom to further advance a cause in the best way you see fit: individual initiative, community action. consider this a push for true cost from power to the poster.

In an effort to reach out to more of those people in the design community doing great things, we brought together a panel of designers and activists to offer their insights on the posters available on the site. They were asked to select the ones that moved them the most.

Right now we are in the process of finalizing the 30 posters we will offer in our online store and wanted to take the time to acknowledge the people who so graciously offered their time to participate in our project. We thank them for their thoughts and comments on the work.

the panel
zara arshad, designer
stefan bucher, 344 design
glória costa, social design site
sue garibaldi, communication arts
ken hashimoto, the obama art report
ben jones, anti-oppression art
patrick jones, educator + activist
brad kindler, activist
james david morgan, the groundswell collective
megan patrick, how magazine
magalie pedrono, social design site
noah scalin, another limited rebellion
ryan sorensen, designer + aiga nebraska
beth stone, good magazine

this project has brought together 66 designers and activists from around the world on a platform of graphic engagement. we wanted to know, as global citizens, what moves us? what is the “what next?” just where the hell are we going in these crazy, historic times? with 145 posters addressing a large breath of issues, this site has become an impressive collection of what graphic activism can be in our media age.

in early 2008, things seemed bleak. there where times when all hoped seemed like it was being stamped out by a black, steel-toed boot. as time went on, there was almost a sense that “downhill fast” was the only way we’d be going any time soon. food riots, continued mideast violence, midwest floods, rising gas prices, rapidly melting ice sheets, the spectacle of freaky republicans drumming up fear at election time, socialism/red marxism warnings via big media, topped all off, by the collapse of global capitalism.

yes, collapse.

and now, with the most exciting, hopeful election result in decades, amidst all the turmoil, the bailouts, two wars, ecological disaster, pandemic flu, the same atrocious schools, the same ruthless health care system and the same dishonest reasons for not doing anything constructive, it does seem like we have a chance. we do, on some basic level, seem like we can move in the right direction. we have shaped up, now we can fly right.

we have reason to give thanks. because the idea of “make this better” has real possibility of truly bearing fruit.

at this moment, all across this country, across the world, we are pulling back the curtain. we are looking in the mirror. honestly reflecting on where we’ve been, what we’ve done, and what we need to do to create a sustainable world. we know we need to make this better, and that it will require a lot of all of us. and that we can rise to the challenge.

what the economic collapse gave us, gift wrapped in recycled kraft paper, is the opportunity to shake off savage capitalism. we have all been shown that it does not create a just, equitable, healthy and clean world. in fact, just the opposite. with this defunct way of looking at the world, the window to make anew has been opened, however briefly. what we’re able to do with that window, only time will tell.

when the rallying cries of the people for a brighter tomorrow start ringing in our ears, when the crowds move in one voice, “we’re all in this together” and when “yes we can” turns into “yes we are”, we will avalanche into the reality of what it means to believe in something greater than ourselves. when the we picks up all of us, celebrating in a new freedom and prosperity that we spent all our sweat and determination making, for all, as we bask in the warm glow of the sun.

one that powers, in one hour, the entire planet for a year. oh, it will be beautiful. -jk-

Work to promote smart growth. That’s the gist. Smart growth. As opposed to growth that is not smart. I.E. dumb, silly or foolish growth, looking backwards, or regressing. That is the heart of sustainability and where it’s taking us.

With 6+ billion people on the planet and a projected 10 billion possible by mid-century we will need plenty of growing, building, and progressing if we’re going to deal with the many issues we have now and will have in the future. If we’re going to get away from the American style of 4 extra planet living, we need to be smart about it.

We’re on the brink. Not of death and destruction, but of a new, smart revolution, and it’s feeling pretty good.

From the SmartCar to SmartTech, when Smart leads the way there sure is a nice ring to it. Because we know what stupidity does — it slows up the works. It clogs the pipes, endangers animal species, pollutes rivers and our air, sends our kids to atrocious schools, gets poisonous toys from China, turns food into fuel, builds suburbs 50 miles from anything, uses the dirtiest fossils of dead things to power our lives, and on and on. Individually, these may not seem like huge problems, but taken altogether, its a planetary emergency.

Which leads to the task at hand. We need smart ‘everything.’

Smart fuel, food, trade, environmental policies, and energy systems. Redesign the grid to make it smart. Weatherize buildings to make them smart. Build mass transit to move people in ways that are smart. One thing we even have going for us is the move to a smart government, where intelligence is an asset, and we have a president that some consider the smartest man to hold the office in quite some time.

Looking at the systems that run our lives, it is obvious that most are not the most intelligent use of time and resources. They’re designed poorly. (Think our recent grade of D- for U.S. infrastructure.) As resources become scarce, priority one will be using them wisely. And as the planetary emergency becomes even more dire than scientists predict, time will be ever more precious.

As we work to promote smart growth it’s best we also promote a total vision and intend to act upon it. Establish a path for problem solving. Work to get to Smart Everything.

Just look around, there’s plenty of places to start, so let’s get to it. Block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. -jk-