Protest Posters

Portraits of George Floyd

By Delphine Hirasuna | June 7, 2020July 7, 2020

via Lorie Shaull, The George Floyd mural outside Cup Foods at Chicago Ave and E 38th St in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Confronted with irrefutable video evidence that an unarmed black man in Minneapolis was violently killed by police, George Floyd’s death has touched off an outpouring of grief, rage, protests, and calls for an end to police brutality. It has also produced some incredibly powerful graphic posters and street murals, mostly done by unknown artists. Interestingly, these images do not depict the shockingly cruel manner in which Floyd died, but afforded him the dignity of a portrait that presented him as a martyr for social justice – justice that is centuries overdue.

Image Credit, Left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Advertising

Misfit Right In….Las Vegas-Style

By Delphine Hirasuna | March 5, 2014September 4, 2014

The evocative typography and energetic soundtrack are what drew us into this 30-second TV spot for the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, but I don’t know what to make of the sales pitch for the hotel/spa. There’s nothing really risqué or particularly naughty about the imagery, but the message that flashes on screen is provocative. “Mutation is progress…Wrong has more fun…Correct is a mistake…Right is a trap…Fight right…Break some eggs… Wild is laid…Misfit right in….Just the right amount of wrong.”

Created by Fallon ad agency in Minneapolis, the commercial seems to validate the promise that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” According to Fallon’s website, “[Cosmopolitan’s] brief was ‘disruptive simplicity.’ And the desired outcome was, as always, to create something that would tickle the senses of the Curious Class and showcase the brand’s unique blend of attitude, wit and sophisticated.”

Packaging

El Paso Chile’s Border Town Packaging

By Delphine Hirasuna | March 22, 2012September 4, 2014

When El Paso Chile Co. commissioned Charles S. Anderson Design in Minneapolis to create a new packaging system for its retail salsa and marinade lines, it wanted to make sure that consumers grasped the fact that its products were authentic Tex-Mex, not wannabe imitations made in places like Cincinnati or Brooklyn. A border town in far west Texas, El Paso is so close to Juarez in Mexico that the two cities are sometimes considered one metro area. El Paso Chile Co. knows its salsas and wanted the packaging to capture that in look and feel.