Project outline
The social issue that I have decided to highlight within this project is Homelessness, particularly in Australia. I have decided to focus upon this topic as it is an issue that is quite prevalent in society today and can affect anyone at any time. Homelessness does not discriminate and there are many factors that cause this issue. By researching this issue, I have been enabled to create a hard-hitting campaign which intrigues viewers and educates them at the same time. The goal of this campaign is to educate the wider Australian public on homelessness and show the importance of having positive interactions with people experiencing homelessness.
Campaign goals
Educate the wider Australian public on how they can help and interact with people that are experiencing homelessness.
Issue:
aim to drive awareness about homelessness, who it affects and what solutions are needed to end homelessness for Australia.
Main problem: Homelessness. Side problem: The broader public is uneducated on interacting with people experiencing homelessness.
Research
"122,494 people were estimated to be experiencing homelessness on Census night in 2021." (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021)
"Males made up 55.9% of people experiencing homelessness; females made up 44.1%." (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021)
"23.0% of all people experiencing homelessness were aged from 12 to 24 years."(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021)
"The stress, trauma, isolation, instability, and stigmatisation that often comes with experiencing homelessness can trigger, maintain and exacerbate mental health issues." (Australian institute of health and welfare, 2024)
"In 2020–2022, around 2 in every 5 (39%) people aged 16–85 with a history of homelessness experienced a mental health condition within the past year, almost twice as high as the general Australian population (21%)." (Australian institute of health and welfare, 2024)
"85,300 SHS clients in 2022-2023 were clients with a current mental health issue."(Australian institute of health and welfare, 2024)
"In 2022–23, about 274,000 clients were assisted by homeless services ; a rate of 105.2 clients per 10,000 population, or 1.1% of the Australian population" (Australian institute of health and welfare, 2024)
"There has been little change in the rate of homelessness in Australia since 2006. The homelessness rate in 2006 was 45 per 10,000 people compared to 48 per 10,000 people in 2021." (Australian Government the treasury , 2023)
"Homelessness can be defined as when a person does not have secure access to adequate housing." (Australian Government the treasury , 2023)
"Mental illness and the experience of being homeless are often interrelated, increasing an individual’s vulnerability, ability to attain employment or sustain their tenancy." (Mission Australia, 2022)
"Homelessness can happen to anyone." (Mission Australia, 2022)
"Orange Sky’s mobile laundry and shower service is our vehicle for supporting the community, but the conversation and connection that happens on shift is the fuel that powers our impact." (Orange Sky Australia, 2024)
"Behind every statistic is a human being, each with their own story to tell and experiences to share." (Orange Sky Australia, 2024)
"No matter how they got there, however, every homeless person has one thing in common: they know how it feels to be an outcast." (Smith, 2018)
"I felt so invisible that sometimes being bashed was a relief – at least the thugs were engaging with me" (Smith, 2018)
"to be homeless is to be see-through. In my experience, the vast majority of passersby pretend that the unfortunate soul on the park bench or huddled on the inner-city footpath in front of them simply isn’t there." (Smith, 2018)
Similar campaigns
Homelessness Week 2023 - Salvation army
Emmanuel City Mission Instagram Christmas campaign 2023
Mission Australia - family homelessness video campaign
Mission Australia video campaign tackling family homelessness awareness
Orange Sky Laundry instagram campaign
Inspiration/visual cannon
Artists such as Keith Haring and Shepard Fairey (particularly his Andre the giant print style) inspire me and my style. I am drawn towards black and white due to its simplicity and depth. I also like adding pops of colour as this can draw viewer attention. Lino printing techniques and styles influence my illustration style.
Mood board
Story outline (three parts)
1. Homeless perspective – (character watching people walk by, being ignored and feeling lesser than others and looked down upon).
2. Public perspective on homelessness - (characters being ignorant, judgmental).
3. The characters Reach out and come together as one to communicate and relate to one another. The conclusion is represented through the action of shaking hands.
Story board
Visual strategies and design principles
The overarching story is told through three plot lines. At the end of the story the two separate characters come together to form a connection, this shows the audience the importance of tackling this social issue. This project is communicated through a comic style, this makes the story easy to follow along with. The design principles that are displayed are:
Colour/tone: Brown, white/black tones.
Texture: cardboard/ripped paper textures.
Use of line.
Contrast between images to gain audience attention.
Movement.
Sketches/ Progress shots
carousel image production
Artistic mediums
Digital illustration and Digital manipulation were used to display this campaign. These mediums allow me to tell this story in an easy going way although still display the importance of the campaign.
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Technical specifics and software range for content creation
Adobe illustrator and Adobe photoshop were used to produce the visual campaign. The use of these digital illustration techniques prove to be time consuming although allow me to express my story clearly.
Final Posts
Reflection - 413 words
This campaign incorporates hand drawn illustrations, typographic elements, and digital manipulation to highlight the homeless experience within Australia. The campaign also educates the broader Australian public with how they can help and interact with people who are experiencing homelessness.
The campaign follows two main storylines which merge to form a conclusion in the end. The first storyline shows the perspective of a homeless individual and expresses how they feel. The second storyline focuses on the public and what they see regarding homelessness. Finally, the storyline concludes when an individual from the public and a homeless person come together to share a positive experience through communicating and shaking hands. I wanted to show the audience that people who are experiencing homelessness have feelings, and that something as simple as saying hello can brighten someone’s day.
Multiple frames were produced to represent each character’s story, and their progression throughout the story. While the final frame of each story concludes that character’s scene and can add insight upon the issue of homelessness.
A positive aspect of this campaign is that I was able to share several images within individual Instagram posts via the carousel feature. This allowed me to express the storyline through image and typographical elements without overexposing the audience to text and unnecessary assets. A comic illustration style was utilised throughout the campaign, as this allowed the topic of homelessness to be conveyed in a more approachable way towards the broader public audience. What also worked well for me throughout this campaign creation process was my ability to create posters on photoshop and my ability to create a story using both past experiences, and informed research on the topic of homelessness.
My use of time management could be improved in the future, if I were to complete this project once again, I would like to create an animation to convey the campaign message. As well as this, I believe that I could have worked more efficiently to form a more interesting storyline for the viewers. Although this project helped me improve my adobe illustrator skills, these skills could be enhanced in the future through more frequent practice.
There is a possibility to further expand upon this campaign by incorporating stories from many different homeless persons perspectives, as there are many facets which define and lead to this social issue.
Overall, the three final storylines work together well to convey and educate Australians about homelessness and the importance of reaching out to society’s homeless population.
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Estimating Homelessness: Census. Retrieved from ABS: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/estimating-homelessness-census/latest-release
Australian Government the treasury . (2023). Homelessness. Retrieved from Treasury: https://treasury.gov.au/policy-topics/measuring-what-matters/dashboard/homelessness
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024). Homelessness and homelessness services. Retrieved from AIHW: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/homelessness-and-homelessness-services
Australian institute of health and welfare. (2024, 02 13). Specialist homelessness services annual report 2022–23. Retrieved from AIHW: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/specialist-homelessness-services-annual-report/contents/clients-with-a-current-mental-health-issue
Emmanuel City Mission. (2023). Retrieved from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmanuelcitymission/
Mission Australia. (2017). "I get scared going to bed now". Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zo79LffCrA
Mission Australia. (2022, 02 01). What it's like to be homeless and alone. Retrieved from missionaustralia: https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/stories/safe-homes/what-it-s-like-to-be-homeless-and-alone
Orange Sky Australia. (2024). CENSUS: HOMELESSNESS STATISTICS AUSTRALIA. Retrieved from Orangesky: https://orangesky.org.au/census/?campaignid=16900734855&adgroupid=132909333342&adid=694254724683&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw_LOwBhBFEiwAmSEQAbENv3keNdtuMRe_xbD3lfxzoF5bDQ-Slwr2wAsR5nNQlpL9-oc_YxoCA_8QAvD_BwE
Orange Sky Laundry. (2022). Retrieved from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orangeskyau/
Smith, G. (2018). after 25 years of being homeless, I learned there's one simple thing you can do to help. Retrieved from theguardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/25/after-25-years-of-being-homeless-i-learned-theres-one-simple-thing-you-can-do-to-help-gregory-p-smith