Power of Persuasion
Kate Schreuder
Carmel College
Course: Year 11 NCEA Level 1
Period of Project: terms 3 and 4
Teacher: Sandra Goonan
Kate was asked to develop her technological practice as a graphic designer by identifying a situation that could be improved, or an opportunity that could be promoted, by persuading people in a target group to do something – to stop smoking, for example, or to stop drinking and driving. She was asked to develop an image communicating her message and apply it to a prototype promotional product.
Kate chose the issue of female infanticide in China, to raise awareness of the problem in Western countries and promote change, and designed an original logo and the slogan "A girl's life is a gift, don't take it away" to be reproduced on a t-shirt.
China's 1979 one child policy combined with a historic preference for male descendents has resulted in the abortion, murder or abandonment of many baby girls in China. Nationwide, six males are born for every five females, far above the international average. The gap is growing every year as a result of increased access to ultrasound sex-checking technology.
When designing her logo and slogan, Kate aimed to appeal to her target market – teenaged girls. Her logo was a repeated pattern of blue boys and one pink girl – to represent the inevitable result of continued female infanticide – hand-painted on two white cotton backgrounds one for the front and one, with the slogan, on the back. She bought a black t-shirt and, using appliqué and iron-on-transfer, positioned her slogan panel on the back to create a balanced and uncluttered design. For the front, Kate shaped the pink and blue panel into a bow – a reference to the slogan.
In developing this project, Kate was careful to comply with copyright laws and to be culturally sensitive and not cause offense. Her bold design advertised the issue clearly to a wide audience and could be easily applied to t-shirts in cost-effective mass production. Kate completed her project under budget and ahead of time.
Teacher comment
As Kate delved further into the research phase of her project she became more engaged and passionate about the issue she had chosen and the message she wanted to communicate to her target market. The issue of female infanticide in China was an unusual topic for a Year 11 student to choose and quite different to that of any of her peers. She certainly succeeded in raising awareness among her classmates and me with the information she gathered. Kate's final image and slogan was simple yet effective and very appropriate for her target market.
