Project Statement

The research I completed in order to write the extended essay enabled me to make informed design decisions when it came to the practical. The feminist movement had a distinct style through each the different ‘waves’, in the early 20th Century the majority of the design associated with the feminist organisations, such as The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Society and the Women’s Social and Political Union was hand-drawn posters. These hand drawn posters often included shocking illustrations and forward copy, the designs on a whole were monotone and dull,  this perhaps mirrors the feelings of the women at this time; they had a lack of freedom and were suppressed. The second wave saw the introduction of more colour, print media was still an essential part however the focus had moved more onto publications such as zines and magazines. Now, in the 21st Century print media in the form of posters and images are back at the forefront, with obvious differences such as the digital age creating a new style. The use of software such as Adobe Illustrator, allows people who aren’t the best as freestyle drawing to create something beautiful to express themselves and share with others.

The majority of early posters included uppercase lettering, as this was a time in which a lot of political change happened for women, I decided to use uppercase in my designs. Although uppercase works well to grab attention, I didn’t want my designs to be as in your face and unfriendly as those from the early 20th Century. The designs are supposed to be accessible by all, with a hand-drawn feel their purpose is to empower women and recruit new feminists, with the goal of being reposted by others to spread the message. When it came to drawing the illustrations that went with the quotes, I was very much thinking of ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’, although basic in style, the illustrations are easy to understand. The added hand-written bubble uppercase text brings the images together and the style as a whole works better than if I had use an existing typeface.

The project could be improved by adding more images that would be suitable for social media header images, this could be achieved by using different dimensions. Another area that could be developed is the colour schemes, although I believe the yellows and pinks work well to stand out against the current crowd of illustrations, as well as helping reclaim pink as a colour feminists are allowed to like; I could have experimented with the colour schemes of the initial suffrage groups, such as purple, green and white. This tactic however would have to be explained in a caption, as the colours aren’t well known today, but it would be a respectful salute to those before me.