End Human Trafficking March | Visual Storytelling with Purpose
For this project I set out to design a poster that could do more than just promote an event. I wanted it to tell a story that stirred emotion and offered hope. The result was a two part design combining photo compositing and illustration to visualize the journey from captivity to freedom
The first design uses a photo composite to show a young woman walking out of a shipping container symbolizing real world trafficking situations. She steps into the light while the other captives watch some inspired some stunned as the message “Some never find the door. Some never escape. Help be their way out.” appears beside her.
In the second design I leaned into illustration. A simplified version of the same concept shows a silhouetted figure walking through the A shaped doorway leaving a glowing path behind her. The surrounding crowd stylized and abstract represents the growing awareness and movement in support of ending trafficking while also representing those who may never escape or be found.
Both posters include event details sponsor recognition and a unified message, but visually they offer two different tones. One is grounded in realism and raw emotion the other is symbolic. I will be including some of my original sketches below to show how this idea took shape and developed through the design process
This project reminded me how powerful design can be not just in style but in storytelling. Sometimes a single letter can become a door. Sometimes a poster can be a voice
Leave a Reply