We are certainly not new to important awareness campaigns towards viral diseases. However, a campaign that tries to spread messages of hope on the street is different. "Poster for the People" is a campaign launched in the UK by artists and designers to raise funds for support organizations and to spread positivity through street art.
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Launched by the In Good Company design platform, "Poster for the People" intends to pay tribute to the NHS staff and workers who have provided a fundamental service in the management of the pandemic. The posters were donated by Pop Art Media Group and respond to a very ambitious initial project. The plan was to spread billboards of this type across the country, but the expenditure in economic and time terms led to a second project. Laura Wellington has decided to launch the "Poster for the People" campaign by selling eight different designs online to allow everyone to buy more motivational posters and spread positivity regardless of where they are placed.
The first poster appeared in the city center of Leeds and was designed by the artist Morag Myerscough. The message contains the phrase "Our Super Heroes, We Love You". In her social project, Laura Wellington oversaw a street art initiative to show support to all those who keep up with their jobs in the United Kingdom even during this difficult period. In addition to Morag Myerscough there are other artists and designers involved: Studio Build, Rebecca Strickson Illustration, Anthony Burrill, FYI, Luke Tonge, Craig Black and Risotto Studio. And even their editions present positive messages such as "take care", "You are all going to deserve medals after this", "Conversations make rainbows".
The idea #PostersForThePeople campaign, envisioned by the curator, had started small and had been inspired by the weekly applause and the rainbow artworks popping up on pavements and in windows. But the project didn’t stay small for long. After chatting to Tom Buxley, Laura’s good friend and co-founder and director of FYI, a Leeds based company providing in-house creative, print and advertising services to the enjoyment industry, Laura’s brainchild project took off. First, Laura curated a design to fit the four billboards on Hyde Park corner, which is owned by FYI. The design, which was created by Morag Myerscough, a London-based artist who has worked with Laura and her team in the past, was turned around in just 72 hours. Since it was launched, the pioneer poster has been received incredibly well by the people of Leeds. Read more here.
Each Poster for the People artwork (the size of a 1m x 750mm banner) costs £ 19.80 and the proceeds go to charities chosen by artists and designers, such as St Luke's Hospice, The Blurt Found, ARTfelt, The Trussell Trust, NHS Charities Together.