My PSA is a phone screen with the words “Wish You Were Here” on it. Above this, three people are absorbed in their phones while a fourth person without a phone looks on sadly, obviously lonely. A text message at the bottom of the screen, left on delivered, reads “get off your phone.” The idea behind this PSA is how phone addiction harms relationships when people can’t be mentally present. Ironically, phones are supposed to connect people, and yet studies have shown that the presence of a phone at the dinner table or during a conversation causes a strong disconnect. The main tagline, Wish You Were Here, points out how people are emotionally and mentally absent when their attention is on their device, even if they are physically present. This PSA is a reminder for us all to put down our phones and be present with our friends and loved ones.
To create this PSA, I used Adobe Illustrator to illustrate each of my elements. I wanted a clean, impactful look, so I used more geometric shapes and repeating elements. I used the image of a screen because we are trained to pay attention to it. I added a noise effect on the screen to communicate the idea of pixels, and an outer glow to the phones in the hands of the people to show blue light and how they are mesmerized by their device.
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