Design Task: Design at least two posters that relate to each other systematically. The posters need to be unified in some way while sharing common threads, while still allowing each design to stand alone. Each poster should be sized 11" x 17"
While many trans people are affected by different forms of bigotry and hate, some groups may be targeted more specifically than others. This project is meant to show that, pairing a different trans identity with a different phrase to emphasize this idea. I go into more depth and meaning under the "poster ideation and meaning" section.
Design Finalized December 2023
Initial Style Tests (Procreate)
Illustration concept sketches and application tests.
Sketching is an important step in my process, especially when I'm creating something illustration based. Formatting the style, text, and overall layout is the primary goal of these early sketches, even if the idea didn't change much from the beginning to the end. The traditional style was kept, due to the unique stylization they brought compared to the cleaner digital style sketches. Underneath the rough concepts. the original scans of the final posters are shown.
Transfem
Transmasc
Intersex/Nonbinary
Poster Ideation and Meaning
Once I had the poster art finalized, it was time to turn to the final variations of the poster. I pulled research from various LGBTQIA+ information sites, and presented it and their logos on the poster. Due to the nature of these posters and my desire to get the message across to an audience, I wanted each poster to focus on one particular trans identity each: transfem, transmasc, and nonbinary/intersex. Each poster is given a color palette with the pride flag each are given, meaning pink, (off) white and blue for the more binary identities, and yellow, purple, and black for the less binary identities. A particular note regarding the intersex/nonbinary posters is that while the identities are not the same, their palettes and societal "othering" are similar.
Regarding the non-human nature of the presentation of trans individuals, I've done it for two reasons. One being the association I often see regrading trans people and having some sort of wolf or other canine as a representation of them or their relationship with gender/themselves; I waned to pay homage to that idea. The second reason is that I didn't want to associate a specific look with trans individuals, and instead use visual cues and storytelling to get the message across in a non-verbal manner. Many people may have a specific person come to mind when they think of transgender topics, and I wanted to break away from that, and common stereotyping surrounding how trans people "should" look, when there is no one way a person should look. The idea already prevails amongst cisgender (non-trans identifying) individuals, so why is it that once a person changes, suddenly how they look must fit into a box and is otherwise scrutinized for not being "normal?"
Finally, each poster has a different set of text surrounding the idea of "Don't I Deserve to ___." This was an idea that came to me to really tie all the posters and their imagery together, as well as implement a point to the statistics shown. I associated a large issue with each section of these identities, and came up with the associated phrase for each. "Don't I Deserve to Live" is from trans women, given they belong to the group most likely to be attacked or killed due to transphobic rhetoric. The implication of attack is present in the illustration, but her pose is open and defenseless, amplifying her victimhood. "Don't I Deserve to Exist" was a more difficult one to define, but came together through the erasure of trans men and how many will attempt to play off their identities as "tomboyish" or a water-down butch identity. The wolf here is both open and curled in on himself, a pose that indicates his depression and ties in with the suicide statistics for his poster. Finally, "Don't I Deserve to Be Known" is about the acknowledgement of gender and sex outside traditional binaries. Intersex people in particular are largely affected by binary constraints, often being subjected to surgery at birth to "normalize" them, rather than allowing someone to simple be a little unique. The wolf here represents the struggle with an internal and external identity not matching due to how society is structured to view gender, with one head being the real truth while the other simply acts as a mask to assimilate.
