Active Victims

Gun Violence Campaign

The objective of the project was to create an identity for a social issues campaign. This includes a logo, series of posters and a newspaper system.  

The concept for Active Victims relates to the issue of mass shootings and how victims aren’t usually talked about. Many news and media sources focus on the shooter and their story instead of looking at the bigger issue, that guns laws could save hundreds of lives. This concept focuses on the PTSD that many survivors will have to live with for the rest of their lives. “Active” victims reminds us that this trauma is still going on and fully controlling the lives of those who suffer. By bringing attention to these stories, many parents can put themselves in the shoes of parents who have lost a child to gun violence, or are battling the troubles their child has faced from their experiences.

A poster series is used to as a call to action for the troubles faced by adolescent school shooting survivors. Imagery associated with school is depicted in a chilling style, representing the concerning safety of what parents consider a safe place for their children. By formatting the survivors stories into a newspaper system, the attention is directed towards the victims instead of the shooter this time. The style of imagery is very straight forward, black and white to get the message across clearly. The images are given a halftone effect to create a vibrating texture. Inspired by a glitch effect, the type and image have a choppiness and represent a feeling of being stuck in an uncomfortable moment. By giving an audience an uncomfortable story through imagery, they are able to understand what was faced by many of these young survivors who are living with both the physical and mental scars of gun violence.