Visiting designers once again!
Jonathan Barnbrook spent the weekend with the class and talked a lot about graphic design and social issues. Its clear that he thinks a lot about how ethics and how they can merge with our individual practice. He asked us to create an tabloid size, b/w poster about a multinational company, being sure to take a position.
I chose Walmart as an opportunity to do some research I’d been putting off and to revisit this behemoth. Since 2005 Walmart has introduced some of the most progressive and innovative sustainability strategies on a truly significant scale. To my knowledge, their labor practices still remain questionable at best, but it does appear that they are making surprising progress in terms of energy and waste.
This poster simplifies a concept I’ve been thinking about in regard to the reality of sustainability and consumerism. I can’t expect corporations to be interested in environmental issues simply because its the right thing to do, but to emphasize that sustainability means profits seems like a decent angle to pursue.
The line just below franklin’s name reads “if walmart can do it, you can do it too.”