America's Most-Wanted Eco Posters on Governor's Island

DATE: 8/31/2012 | BY ELISA LESHOWITZ

Last Sunday, after a short ferry ride from Brooklyn, I attended the Cooper Hewitt's rousing America's Most-Wanted Eco Posters event on Governor's Island. Organized by Ellen Lupton, co-curator of the Graphic Design Now in Production exhibition on view on Governor's Island through Labor Day, and Ed Morris, co-author of Green Patriot Posters, the event took place in an impromptu classroom, where approximately 30 participants interacted with a panel led by Morris.

ABOVE: Live webcast of America's Most-Wanted Eco Posters, produced by the Cooper-Hewitt.

Morris and a team of designers were assigned to produce an effective slogan and poster prototype for the grassroots environmental organization 350.org--in less than two hours.
350.org director May Boeve was present to field ideas, along with Pentagram's Natasha Jen and Debbie Milman of Design Matters.

The challenge was to come up with a slogan and poster design conveying 350.org's mission to stop global warming, while drawing new members to the cause. Not an easy task! Audience members were asked to react and respond to ideas, composing phrases which were posted on a screen for further evaluation and expansion. Diego Gutierrez, one of the designers whose work was featured in Green Patriot Posters also led an internet image search to pull examples of ideas that were suggested by the audience—such as mutated carrots, crowds of protestors and burning oil fields.

The event functioned as a graphic design brainstorming extravaganza, literally "in production" and engaging the public in the exciting but complicated process that goes behind a green poster campaign. Hopefully, 350.org even added some new members!

ABOVE: "Keep Buying Shit" (2009) by Diego Gutierrez, reproduced from Green Patriot Posters.