Initial research

Looking through Jonathan Barnbrook's website produced some examples of political designs.

Barnbrook's logo design gives the Occupy London movement an identity. By providing this, it gives the campaign credibility and a focal point for people to associate with.
This 'focal point' can also be communicated in the typeface. The point in the 'O' connotes a central point for the demonstration whilst on the other hand, the surrounding 'O' shape is representative of the "occupying" of the dot. Therefore not only does the application of the design matter but how it is designed also factors in to its effectiveness in creating awareness. A well designed mark for a movement can be influential enough to become the symbol for a larger message.

This can be seen in Ken Garland's nuclear posters.

This design saw the birth of the ubiquitous peace symbol seem today. The high impact compositions of the posters forcefully imbed the logo into the protesters mind, influencing them to join and the Atomic Weapons research establishment, informing them of the movements identity.

Continuing on from the first Barnbrook example, this guerrilla campaign protested against the annual Arms fair that was being held in London. Barnbrook signature approach to typography give the statements more visual character and as a result captures the viewers attention. Furthermore it focuses the campaign on the statements which is presumably the whole idea. The tone of voice is serious and to the point with one exception using satire to give a humorous edge to the statement. The nature of the campaign however limits its application. It is only seen on bus stop billboards. However this can be seen as a positive as a sizeable amount of the population in London take the bus and because these statements would not want to be seen by the Arms committee, displaying these posters selectively may have lengthen its lifespan.

This guerrilla campaign COP21 focuses on the lies major companies hide from the public. The aim was to make people aware of what companies they're supporting and to think twice. It highlights how big companies should adopt a more honest and conscious approach to their practices and not compromise on ethical and environmental values.

In an article by Creative Review, author Mark Sinclair dicusses how Muji's design philophsy is more alinged to the teaching of the ULM school than common examples of Apple and Braun.
The standout point was how the products in MUJI don't follow a hierarchical system. This means the products are focused on providing its intended function rather than offering a "class system" that is reflective of the perceived social class system in society. A common example of a product that does this is the iPhone range. The low end model is aimed towards those who can't afford the flagship and therefore perceived to be at a lower social class to those who can. This is a very broad statement that is not reflective of the social connotations of buying the low end model. For example, some users may not need a highly powerful smartphone for their needs, so a cheaper yet reasonable option will suffice.
The point on MUJI's design philosophy however leans towards a more modernist thinking in that the design is aimed to create a homogenous society where embellishments are frowned upon and necessity is celebrated. However it does highlight the common practice of brands creating a social class through the hierarchical designs they produce. By doing so, they are subconsciously creating divisions in society. Ethical design should be honest and not perpetuate false ideals.

Milton Glaser's take on raising awareness of climate change uses a very accurate and honest approach to the issue. Glaser's It's Not Warming, It's Dying campaign aims to create a greater sense of urgency around climate change, moving away from benign language like "global warming". This campaign hits on the harsh realities of what the Earth is experiencing. Furthermore it highlights how movements may not be accurately communicating the right mentality to society because of the way its designed. As designers, we shape peoples viewpoints and as a result should be communicating honesty.

Our society is built upon a throwaway culture where by planned obsolescence is practiced almost every company to perpetuate materialism. With fashion being based on trends and the pace at which it moves at, people are constantly buying new clothes and throwing away the old. Sustainability in fashion therefore needs to be more of a current issue and practiced especially by bigger more influential brands like Adidas and Nike. Another factor that adds to this throwaway culture are the fast fashion brands such as H&M and Zara. Quick turnover of the collections means people buy new clothes frequently, resulting in a surplus of discarded clothes.

A recent example of how sustainability can be effectively incorporated into fashion was done through a collaboration between Adidas and Parley. The uppers of the shoe uses recycled ocean plastic recovered from the sea. The shoes launch coincided with World Oceans Day held on June 8, the Adidas x Parley trainers are a limited edition of 50 pairs to be earned rather than purchased. 
The shoes are made using Adidas' existing footwear manufacturing processes but the usual synthetic fibres are replaced with yarns made from the recycled Parley Ocean Plastic. 

The resulting design has had an impact on its designer, Alexander Taylor. "A designer can be the agitator and the agent for change. He must be entrepreneurial in spirit, seeking out collaborators to reach amazing solutions which outperform and offer truly viable alternatives to current methods."

Creating fashion that is sustainable or at least uses materials that lessens the environmental impact is possible. The difficulty is getting people to get behind the idea and to design clothes people want to buy. These kinds of clothing are usually more expensive than usual as well, decreasing its appeal. But high costs are always an initial hurdle, as brands incorporate more of these materials into their designs and utilise better tech, the costs will eventually go down and hopefully peoples perception on issue as well. 

Monotype - Application of campaign

In keeping with the aim to get people to travel to New Zealand, the ad campaign will be placed in places where people are commuting, such as airports, busses and train stations.

Because of the educational content of the campaign, the posters can be displayed on editorial content such as newspapers or magazines.

On social media, having the ad feature on instagram will help spread awareness of the campaign. The content is significantly reduced to cater towards peoples attention span on mobile screens. The use of the moving border demonstrates a versatile identity for the campaign. Instagram is an appropriate platform that can display content professionally unlike facebook or twitter where the context of the platform is informal. Not promoting the campaign on Snapchat avoids the possibility of cultural misappropriation and insensitive by people sending the wrong messages through an arbitrary filter.

Monotype - Final Compositions

Working as a series of 4, these poster hit on 4 main cultural aspect of the Maori. That being their facial tattoos, weaving, wood carving and symbolic stories. In each, rather than to title each poster as 'Maori', which gives no context, it is changed to its Maori translation. This promotes their unique language which will help draw interest to the campaign. Despite the seemingly large amount of copy on the poster, the large set type is quick to read, proving the reader with brief yet appropriate information to educate them about the culture. The tone of voice is informational yet engaging to make learning about the Maori interesting.

The simplicity of the art direction focuses the readers attention onto their cultural artefacts. The graphic art style and high contrast colour scheme is aimed to stay away from most cultural campaigns today who utilise high impact imagery to showcase their people. Through this art direction, the campaign avoids adding to the already stereotypical image of the Maori. With no preconceptions, the information becomes new to the reader making it more effective in communicating its message.

As much as it is useful to learn about other cultures however, the best way to experience them is to visit the culture itself. Hence the posters aim to guide readers onto their national website. NewZealand.com is an effective and professional platform that provides readers contextual knowledge on New Zealand and its indigenous people. By making learning about the country and easy and attractive way, it encourages people to book a trip there which can be done on the website itself. This in turn will help tourism and bring New Zealand and its culture more exposure.

Fur For Animals - Second meeting

Since our last meeting research was done and we came together to share our research to identify our target audience, tone of voice and idea for the campaign.

NSPCC's Flaw in the Law was an example shown by Georgina that influenced our solution to the brief. The video's effectiveness in its shareability is down to the way the message is communicated to the viewer. Information is presented in just short sentences which in turn constantly changes the video's visual. This keeps the viewers attention and makes the video appropriate to the attention span of on screen users today. Another effective technique is the tone of voice. The animation style softens the seriousness of the issue, which is effective because the graphic imagery used by other campaigns have been overdone. Making it more likely for people to dismiss the constant rhetoric.

Kieran provided context behind the reason why Russians buy into the fur trade. Trading fur is rooted deep in their culture, from as early as the 17th Century. The current economic crisis Russia is experiencing from sanctions has also caused the fur trade to continue as way to generate income. Furthermore because Russia is such a cold country, wearing fur was brought on from necessity. "Many middle class people wear fur because it is regarded as the best way to stay warm in the harsh winter." As a whole there has never been a strong anti-fur movement in Russia, and there wasn't one in the Soviet Union.

He also highlighted how China has a very relaxed view on the fur trade. Offering little regulations of the area. An interesting point however was how that China will always continue the trade to supply the demand for fur in Europe. So if the campaign can reduce the demand, the suffering of the animals can be reduced.

From the research we gathered, we produced a range of ideas we could pursue.

1. Lynx (old name of Fur for Animals), had a tshirt made promoting the anti fur campaign.

We thought the campaign could produce t-shirts for sale to help bring the anti fur movement back into public consciousness. A t-shirt would relatively be appropriate because of how much fur is being used in fashion nowadays. The t-shirt can then be photographed and subsequently shared on social media, spreading the awareness.

2. To produce clothing tags that would help tell consumers of the authenticity of the fake fur they're buying. This idea stemmed from the quote by the RSPCA's head of external affairs in which, David Bowles, said: "We believe that real fur is mistakenly being widely sold in the UK. An RSPCA survey showed that 93 per cent of people would not wear real fur, but a lot of shoppers are accidentally buying it assuming it's fake because it is cheap and not clearly labelled." This highlights how the general public aren't fully educated on the fur industry and how shady it can all be. By creating these tags and possibly extending it brands labelling their shops at the entrance, the consumer becomes better informed into what they're buying. Consumers would have a better conscious knowing that they are not indirectly supplying the fur trade. This "tag" can also be made into a digital label as well. Having online merchants display like an icon stating that the clothes they are buying are 100% fake fur. Ultimately however this idea doesn't necessarily achieve the briefs aims of creating a shareable online campaign.

3. Producing a sticker pack was a suggestion to help create a more interactive campaign. This came about from the trending trash dove stickers that are appearing on Facebook and Georgina's research on the WWF endangered emoji campaign. 

Because people communicate so much electronically, having a sticker would potentially make the campaign last longer. Furthermore this sticker pack could be made on to the Chinese messaging app WeChat which is the equivalent to WhatsApp. China is a hard country to 'infiltrate' because of its heavy censorship on western media sites. To get around this, stickers on their messaging app could potentially be a way to get the campaign trending in the country. 

4. Thinking even further than just a social media campaign we thought the anti fur movement could take advantage of the digital platform. That means potentially having a VR tour of a fur farm or even making a game. However our inexperience in the field wouldn't do justice to these ideas so to say. Nevertheless it could be a touchpoint to state on the design boards to demonstrate how far the campaign could go. 

In order to properly identify which idea to pursue we decided that the overarching problem of the campaign is that the general public are not well informed on the fur trade. This was created from the decreasing exposure after the 90's "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" campaign. The lack of exposure meant that the fur trade was able to go unnoticed and continue till this day. Furthermore since that era, a new generation has emerged and therefore has become the ideal target audience. It is easier to educate the youth because they are open to new ideas and mentalities. 

After some discussion, we concluded that a video campaign would be the most appropriate solution. Short succinct videos such as the NSPCC's better hold the viewers attention and communicate the message clearly. A simple digital poster approach may become easy to overlook or scroll past. Videos are also very versatile with it being able to be posted on virtually every social media site. Furthermore, online habits of users on Facebook have changed. Nowadays the site has become a platform for sharing other peoples content rather than posting status updates as originally intended. By tapping into this habit and the 1.86 billion monthly active users (as of of the fourth quarter of 2016) the site has, the campaign is more likely to be shared.

As for the tone of voice, we concluded that the campaign should avoid the same ones used by the WWF, NHS or THINK! A less serious tone of voice will make the campaign more approachable to support and make it more accessible to a wider audience.  

Therefore the aim of the video is to educate the viewer on the realities of the fur trade through a approachable tone of voice. Some initial ideas were to illustrate the life journey of two minks, one trapped in the cage and one living freely in the woods. By showing both sides, the viewer is educated on the positives of allowing these creatures live a normal life rather than focusing on just the negatives. It also lessens the common tactic of hitting on peoples guilty conscious which can be a factor to turn away from the campaign. Another idea was to create an infographic type video to illustrate the amount of fur used on common items people buy them for.

Until the next meeting, Georgina and I are tasked with creating the narrative of the video whilst Kieran creates the visual style. 

Feedback on shortlisted ideas

Shortlisted ideas are:

• West Indian Carnival
• Light Night
• River Aire
• Women Suffrage
• Leeds Arcades

These were chosen based on my personal interest in the event and its potential to develop further. 

Discussing these events during a session and it was clear that the West Indian Carnival and Light Night took most interest. This was due to its potential to creating a vibrant, exciting and engaging poster design. 

River Aire's contribution to Leeds is important, however it would be a representation more the river itself rather than the significance of a public space. Furthermore what the poster would celebrate was unclear.
The Women's Suffrage in Leeds is a milestone not only in the UK but on the international scale as well. The problem with this is that the association of the Suffrage to Leeds is mainly due to Leonora Cohen rather than Woodhouse Moor. Furthermore there is no real significance of Woodhouse Moor in Cohen's campaign. It was only cited in one source.
The Leeds Arcade was another area of interest however as there is a lack of significance to Leeds's development. The arcades are more of a representation of Leeds's appeal for shopping rather than a historic milestone.

Developing Light Night as an idea will open up the design to more conceptual ideas, a futuristic look and playing on the theme of Light. One of the suggestions was to maybe have the audience shine a UV torch against the poster to view the design. Or to have a lightbox shine from underneath the poster on tracing paper to become a Light Poster.

Pursuing the West Indian Carnival idea would result in a very colourful outcome coinciding with 50th anniversary. This idea lack the innovative possibilities that Light Night has. Furthermore this idea has more possibilities to use more unique analog techniques. A poster for the Carnival may have the inevitably to become purely a screen print. Not that it is a negative, but in order to help it stand out from the rest of the exhibition, the opportunity to use more creative techniques may help it do so.

On the other hand however pursuing the Light Night idea may result in an overly conceptual poster design and not celebrating printing techniques. This will be an area to consider during feedback.

Leeds City Museum

Visiting Leeds City Museum provided some extra information on public spaces of Leeds.

The museum's acknowledgment of the canal as a contributor to the city's development agrees with the initial research done on the River Aire. The poster could be a celebration of the river's connection to the wider world in its significance to Leeds's development.

Shopping is a lucrative business in Leeds with many of the high street providing consumers with a wide range of modern day brands that is unlike the towns that surround it. The newly built John lewis building is impressive and symbolises the drive for modernity in Leeds and its efforts to provide attractive shopping options. The most characteristic of the shopping areas however are the Arcades that line Brigatte street. They offer a different shopping experience through their interiors that are ornamental, glitzy and upscale that is similar to the Burlington Arcade in London.

Leonora Cohen is Leeds most famous suffragette who fiercely campaign for the betterment of women's working conditions in the UK. She gained notoriety when in 1913, in order to publicise her cause she attempted to break the glass showcase in the Jewel House of the Tower of London containing insignia of the Order of Merit. A note wrapped around the iron bar she used read "This is my protest against the Governments treachery to the working women of Great Britain." On 28th July 1908, the Women's Social & Political Union's Procession to Woodhouse Moor held a huge rally where thousands had marched from the Town Hall. Bands played on Woodhouse Moor where thousands of people, both men and women, had gathered to listen to the various speakers from the 10 platforms. One of the most famous of the suffragettes to address the crowds was Adela Pankhurst, daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and sister of Sylvia and Christabel, all leaders of the British Suffrage movement. They famously went on hunger strike while serving prison sentences. The day on Woodhouse Moor was a great success with a resolution put advocating 'Votes for Women'.

The poster could therefore be a celebration of woodhouse moor providing a catalyst for the women's rights movement which is still a international concern today. 

Fur For Animals - Tone of voice

Simply showing imagery of cruelty towards animals in the fur trade may create apathy rather than action. This comes from an article by the Guardian that discusses the oversimplified and stereotypical imagery charities use again and again to convey the same message.

Kristoffe Kinge, vice-president at SAIH, says that stereotyping of this nature in the media and in fundraising, creates an “us and them” feeling about beneficiaries and serves to divorce people from feeling connected to those who might need charity assistance. Being humorous, creative, or both, without over-simplifying the issues and also showing the structural reasons behind poverty, is the way forward, he says.

A more effective approach would be to make the campaign more relevant to people's lives. By doing so, the viewer can draw similarities between the message of the campaign and to their own lives. “The public now responds much better if they can follow a concrete and tangible impact in a charity advert,” she says. “The most effective charity adverts feature just one person. If the advert shows just one single person, it feels more real and therefore has more of an impact.”

Therefore the campaign shouldn't aim to make the fur trade a distant problem. Having a story to tell, incorporating emotion and hitting on aspects that are shared by the lives of everyday people can help make the message hit harder. Ultimately the aim is to get people to actively prevent future sales of fur.

Fur For Animals - Past 'anti' campaigns

Looking at a range of 'anti' campaigns will help identify the look associated with them and how to avoid it.

WWF

WWF's advertising campaign all communicate a central message of saving the environment. They use high impact photography that dominate the viewer to make it harder for the viewer to look away. The type of imagery also exploits the guilty consciousness of the viewer to effectively communicate their point across. The imagery consistently highlight man's impact on the environment and cruelty towards animals. A serious tone of voice is thus created for the campaigns.

Meat Free Week

Meat Free Week's illustrative typography, bright colours and conversational tone of voice creates a more approachable campaign for people to join in. The overall result is less confrontational and daunting than the Fur For Animals campaign. The campaign should reflect a level of 'friendliness' in order to achieve shareability and to get people behind the movement.

Anti Smoking adverts

The anti-smoking movement shares similarity in the tone of voice and look for the campaign. Both use graphic imagery to shock people into the harsh reality of the acts. Both use large high impact photography to prevent people from looking away.

The difference between the two however is that the anti smoking adverts are also seen on cigarette packaging as well. So not only are viewers educated on the reality of smoking through billboard adverts but they carry these adverts with them, serving as a constant reminder.

However these do not represent the current anti smoking advertising for cigarette packets. As of 20th May 2016 the UK initiated a plain packaging scheme that removes much of the branding and attractive colours cigarette boxes used to have.

The cigarette packs are found in a single colour - ‘Pantone 448 C opaque couché’ which according to research is the ‘world’s ugliest colour', and the brand name will be written in a standard font, size and location. New health warnings cover 60% of the pack. Tobacco companies use branding to market and to maintain brand loyalty in order to encourage people to smoke. This allowed 'premium' brands to ask for premium prices, which most consumers were willing to pay. The removal of the branding reduces this appeal.
Plain packaging's success has been documented in Australia, where the change was launched in 2012 and figures suggest that the prevalence of smoking has dropped. Furthermore the price of cigarettes have increased, making it harder for certain demographics to afford it. 

Having the adverts be placed onto the products themselves could be a possible route to take for the Fur for Animals campaign. The idea would be to have the clothes include another tag that spreads awareness of the fur farming trade. Even if the piece of clothing uses fake fur. Through this way, it uses the spending habits of consumers and uses it to gain exposure for the movement. But rather than using a shock tactic like WWF and the NHS smoking campaigns, the tag could have a more positive tone of voice that thanks the user in not buying real fur. This way the buyer feels good about not buying real fur. 

Anti Drink driving campaigns

Anti Drink Driving campaigns have used various tactics since the 1960s to lessen the number of cases. The campaign, which is most associated with THINK!, have targeted the various areas drink driving affects. What it does to the victim, the victim's family, the consequences of getting caught and how easy it is to forget your alcohol limits. As a campaign, the diverse perspectives the viewer is exposed to about the reality of drink driving means that they are better informed on the issue of drink driving, and as a result, can be more effective in deterring people from committing the act. Drink driving is a predominant issue in society which has an impact on nearly every aspect on ones life after committing. Throughout the various approaches however, THINK! maintains a serious tone of voice, which reflects the seriousness of the crime as well as bring a form of consistency across the campaign. Furthermore, this is yet another campaign that uses professional photography to communicate its message across. 

Car companies such as Fiat have also commented on the issue. In this advert, the message is a lot more implicit. Letting the viewer infer the consequences of drink driving through a clever visual metaphor. It a tactic that hits on the common notion that people don’t like to be told what to do, but rather, prefer to be enabled and helped. Having constantly told to not drink drive may not be effective as the constant reminder may lose its effect. Letting people decide for themselves can be a more effective approach as they viewer themselves make a conscious effort to prevent drink driving. 

This could be a tone of voice to use in the campaign, letting people decide for themselves to boycott the fur trade. This can only be done through more implicit communication of the main message. 

Another factor to consider is when these adverts are shown. For example, drink driving adverts are usually shown during the festive periods where drinking habits are increased. This can be evidenced through Budweiser's recent anti drink driving message using Dame Helen Mirren to slander drink drivers, which was originally intended for Super Bowl coverage.

The significance of this is that by targeting a specific period during the calendar that coincides with the fur trade for example the Copenhagen Fur Auction, it maximises exposure and relevance for he campaign. By doing so, the campaign could be retained in peoples minds better, and to an extent become an association. Just like how we are supposed to be mindful of drinking habits during festive periods.

Another campaign that is usually seen during the festive periods are the commonly seen charity adverts that ask viewers to donate a small amount to help the lives of the unfortunate. These are usually seen during Christmas as t is inferred that people are in a"giving" mood and thus more likely to donate.

However according to Co-founder of Regarding Humanity, Linda Raftree believes that adverts viewers are used to seeing of hopeless people in poverty aren’t effective in solving the issues charities are seeking to address. They don’t empower or create sustainable change, she says.
“We know that organisations need to raise funds for their work, but when it comes to such advertising and campaign imagery, they’re often acting detrimentally to their long-term goals,” says Raftree.

Therefore, the fur for Animals campaign is an opportunity to create a campaign that distances itself from the overused and associated high impact imagery of other anti campaigns. This associated aesthetic could also be detrimental to the campaign as it may make it easier for the viewer to look away. It must be noted however that these campaigns have yet to take advantage of online sharable content. Therefore the adverts seen here are specific in its look and tone of voice because of the platforms the are presented on.

Fur For Animals - Understanding the rise of fur

An article by The Independent on why fur is back on the rise

The fight against fur was at its peak when supermodels such as Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford posed with an "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" placard in 1994. Their influence as megastars in pop culture meant wide exposure and it became socially taboo to wear fur.
According to the article, Britain's fur trade is back and thriving. Serving a new generation of customers.

An investigation by The Independent on Sunday has revealed that more than a thousand tons of fur worth £41m came into Britain last year. The British Fur Trade Association claims that retail sales of fur have risen by a third in two years. In London, one furrier, Hockley, is reporting a 45 per cent increase in business. Global sales of fur reached a record £6.6bn in 2005, according to the International Fur Trade Federation.

The Independent also highlights a future anti-fur campaign from RSPCA. This would be a good area to research to understand different perspectives on the matter and to help the fur for animals campaign to stand out.

A quote by an RSPCA spokesperson shed light on what customers buy the fur for, "Although full mink coats may be still ethically out of bounds, the fur industry is going for trim and trinkets." The act of buying smaller smaller pieces of fur reduces the guilt consciousness of the consumer.
Animal activist groups often blame the fashion industry for keeping the fur trade relevant. Major General Peter Davies, The World Society for the Protection of Animals director general, is calling for a boycott of fur, blaming the fashion industry for fuelling a rise in sales "by flaunting it all over the catwalk".

However, not all designers share the same sentiment. Stella McCartney, in an interview with this newspaper, said, "There's nothing fashionable about a dead animal that has been cruelly killed just because some people think it looks cool to wear. The continuing use of fur is still a real problem in the fashion industry and there is an issue with people out there assuming that fur trim is fake when most of it is real." Using high profile fashion designers to criticise the fur trade can help influence the younger generation to not buy into the allure of wearing fur.

Despite this, high profile designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Prada, and Roberto Cavalli regularly celebrate fur in their catwalk shows and defy the attentions of animal rights activists. As a result the new generation has grown up without being exposed to the mass-media shock advertising campaigns that helped launch the anti-fur movement in the 80s.

The article also highlights one of the main problems to the rising fur trade. issues like climate change and global poverty have taken centre stage and have left fighting for fur to dwindle in exposure. This lack of exposure has allowed the fur trade to slowly rise again. "I think there has been a fall-off in consciousness and fur has crept back insidiously," said the style commentator Peter York. "Fur trim is just a texture; it is not a pelt or mass of pelts, and simply does not look like fur." Therefore the shareability of the campaign is crucial as worldwide exposure of the message will help bring back anti-fur into everyday consciousness.

From an undercover investigators view, the wire cages impact the minks the most. They are small and offer no real movement for the mink. They become slower than their wild counterparts and as a result a direct link to their poor living conditions. This could possibly be a motif to use in the ad campaign to communicate the living conditions of these animals everyday.

An article by National Geographic on why the fur trade is rising
Similarly to The Independent's article, Nat Geo state that "In truth, getting past the killing doesn’t seem like much of an issue anymore." This agrees with the point of how anti-fur messages are losing exposure in pop culture. Fashion designers who were “afraid to touch it” 15 or 20 years ago have also “gotten past that taboo,” said Dan Mullen, a mink farmer in Nova Scotia.

The article also targets the audience fur caters to now, "fur has gone hip-hop and Generation Z. It turns up now in all seasons and on throw pillows, purses, high heels, key chains, sweatshirts, scarves, furniture, and lampshades." and "increased demand from the newly wealthy in China, South Korea, and Russia." "Chinese consumers now buy almost half the world’s fur products."

The article does however lack in a biased opinion on the anti-fur movement. Rather than give two side of the coin, the article only illustrates the improved conditions of these animals face from new breeders due to new regulations. It creates a skewed view of the topic that makes the actual reality of these animals 'easier to swallow'. The main message Fur For Animals want to communicate is that ethical fur does not exist, no matter the improvement in the living conditions.

The article suggests another way the fur trade has risen, stating that the industry has specifically attracted designers when the anti-fur movement was at its peak. That way, each has experience with the material. "The ambition was for all designers to have 'flirted with the material' early in their careers, said Julie Maria Iversen of Kopenhagen Fur. The aim has always been to move beyond furrier shops and fur departments, and make fur just another fine fabric, available wherever clothes are sold." By offering new and alternative ways to sell fur, the associated "fur fatwa" of wearing large pieces of fur is lost in the new generation of customers. It becomes a way for people to be introduced into buying fur and subsequently start a trend that leads them to buying larger pieces. “We start with the young consumer buying a fur key ring, then maybe a little later she has more money for a fur bag,” she said. “Eventually she buys a full coat.” It’s “all part of the agenda, to inspire the upcoming generation of women.”

Lastly, the author suggests that the banning of fur does not effectively stop the industry from producing nor stop people from buying. It merely shifts to areas where rules don't apply. Therefore the campaign could take a more preventive tone of voice rather than try to provide a cure. To educate the new generation of the unethical practices of fur farming than to try and prevent it from reaching consumers. 

Fur For Animals - Their website

The Fur for Animals website provided good resources to better understand the plight of the fur trade.

• The Fur Free Retailer programme is a policy for stores that tells consumers that they strictly do not sell clothes with real fur. This can be an aspect to promote or at least work with in the campaign. Millions of people every day enter clothing stores, having them explicitly display this tag will help get the message into the public consciousness. 
• Fur farming has been banned for over 10 years in the UK which has prevented the market from growing and subsequently lessening the appeal to buy real fur.  
• The leg hold trap is commonly used to catch the animals for the trade. This could be incorporated into the illustrations as a way to educate viewers more on the ways they trap fur, making consumers think twice before they purchase. 
• Animals killed for their fur are either trapped in the wild or reared in fur factory farms in tiny barren wire cages for a product nobody needs. This can be used to same effect as the leg hold trap.

Despite efforts to ban fur trade, “Fifteen years later the fur trade has done next to nothing to improve the conditions for the animals and their suffering continues. Our new report examines all of the recent research and its conclusion is stark: the case for banning fur farming is overwhelming.” Thus the current efforts from Fur from Animals and other organisations are inadequate against the stagnating yet operating fur trade. The lack of exposure of the trade has allowed it to still continue, away from public eye. 

This section of their website can be turned into a positive spin for the campaigns tone of voice. Instead of using a scare tactic, the campaign could help promote these animals commonly used for fur by providing educational fun facts that will help to create sympathy for the animals. Furthermore, a lighter tone of voice will allow the campaign to be shareable across more age groups. Creating too light of a tone of voice however and the campaign's message will lose meaning and not be impactful. 

Fur for Animal's website also shed light on one of the largest auctions for fur trading in the world. The Kopenhagen Fur Sale. Unlike the Fur for Animals website, the Kopenhagen Fur Sale website looks professional and corporate, which acts as a veneer against the cruelty of fur farming. It dehumanises the act which reduce the animals to labels and prices. There are no mentions of the animal's conditions on their website or how they are farmed, only the promotion of the furs quality and auction details. According to the website, Mink, caracal and chinchilla are the top animals for fur farming, therefore these are the animals to centre the campaign around. 

Another potential area to develop would be to redesign the Fur for Animals website to align itself with the campaigns look. The current solution looks dated due to its textured background which is rarely seen on today's websites, arbitrary layout of content and erratic blood splatters which can come across as unprofessional. The less professional the website looks, the less seriously the viewer is going to view the issue. 

Fur For Animals - Outlining the brief

Going through the brief provides some context and understanding into what Fur for Animals are looking for.

David Bailey's past campaign in the 80s communicated messages of cruelty, that the act of wearing fur makes you a cruel person. The blood tells the reader of the bloodshed the buyer is causing from wearing and encouraging fur coats.

“…the fight against the fur trade is now more urgent than ever…”

This signals an area of research. To examine the current condition of the fur trade to see what actions are being taken and to see the current mentality on animal cruelty. 

“…no such thing as ethical fur…”

This is the overarching message that Fur for Animals want to try and convince people. In order to communicate this, there is needed understanding of why wearing real fur is desirable for its target audience. 

The brief's collaboration with Mobbie Nazir of We Are Social also indicates the type of work they are looking for as a winning submission. We Are Social predominantly produce online content for brands such as Youtube, HSBC and adidas. Their solutions are usually aimed at a younger audience through their frequent incorporation of social media platforms and concepts that require engagement from the user. Taking their online campaign for HSBC as an example, We Are Social created a freshers fortnight campaign through snapchat geofilters that were aimed to communicate HSBC's belief that the people you meet at uni can shape your life. The name of the We Are Social itself is a big indicator of what they believe in. Therefore the shareability of the new fur campaign is an important factor to consider in terms of its effectiveness.

Campaign requirements

Must be online content

Must be shareable on social media or shareable content they can create

Audience must have something to take away from the campaign

The campaign must be relevant to peoples day to day lives

3 second video max 5, no sound (gif)

An international campaign 

Target Audiences

Everyone, but because of the fur trade still being largely practiced in Russia and China, there is heavy emphasis to tailor the content to these two main groups.

Royalty

Younger demographic to teach them early

Fur For Animals - Collaborative practice first meeting

Having set up a group with Georgina from Graphics and Kieran from Illustration, we arranged for our first meeting to break the ice and to get a general idea of what the brief requires.

Going through the brief, we identified the several areas we needed to clarify prior to starting. The two most influential ones being the target audience and message. Establishing these two will help to create the overarching tone of voice and art direction for the campaign.

We also created a rough time sheet for the brief. This helps everyone stay on the page and remind them of the brief itself given the multiples briefs going on at the same time. This also ensures that with every formal meeting, we are up to date with each stage and sets a specific subject to discuss.

Monotype - Poster designs

After shortlisting the designs to take further, mocking up the compositions give more of an idea of how the content will sit. The flat white graphic of the Hei Tiki creates a more artistic campaign which connotes references to cultural representations. Its rough forms are meant to emulate the effect of wood carving that is a prominent art form in Maori culture. 

Giving these for feedback from a friend who stays in New Zealand suggested that the term "The Maori" is not entirely appropriate as it is the wrong terminology that may misrepresent the Maori. The indeginous people of New Zealand are a proud culture who the population respect highly. To be sensitive of cultural norms to not misinterpret their or any culture is something the campaign needs to take into consideration. 

The frame uses a pattern design by the Maori called Raperape, this design is carved to represent movement. It is used by all areas of Aotearoa, Maori for New Zealand and stands for continuity towards their evolving future. Using this pattern on the poster campaign promotes a positive future towards the Maori people. 

The use of outlines experiments with the legibility of the poster and to create depth. The outlines make the poster visually lighter which in turn may not attract the viewers attention.

The use of the frame dictates how the audience will view the content. Because the frames are thick, they effectively center the attention to its outline first. Framing just the illustration makes the copy look out side of the poster's focal point, lowering its ability to maintain the viewers attention to communicate effectively.

Giving these compositions to feedback and one idea that stood out was to create a layout that worked together as a series to form one larger poster. Through this idea the campaign also has a sense of consistency that creates a recognisable identity for the Maori.