PSA Production

For this project, we were tasked to create a Public Service Announcement poster based off of our belief statement from our english class “This I Believe” Essay .

PSA Artist Statement

The message of my PSA is to convey the importance of being authentic in society. Through this PSA, I hope to tell the audience to present their true selves to the world and connect with others in genuine ways. In the center of my PSA, there are two hands encompassing a purple heart. The words “be real” and “be you” are repeated on all of the fingers on the hands. The repetition of these statements add to the overall meaning of the PSA that one should present their true authentic self. The two hands are enclosed in a circle with the phrase “connect authentically” repeated and outlined with dark purple shading. In addition, the hands show diversity and sharing connections between two people with different skin tones. Directly outside of that circle, I incorporated small figures representing people and weaved them throughout the artwork, in order to demonstrate connection between individuals.

I used Adobe Illustrator for the creation of this PSA. For the formation of the hands in the artwork, I utilized the pen tool. I struggled with the hand making process, but ultimately overcame this challenge through additional practice and viewing online tutorials. At first, I was unsure how to create an outline border around the “connect authentically” phrase, but used a layering technique to accomplish this effect. Another technique demonstrated in this PSA is the use of leading lines and repetition. The repetition of the words “be real” and “be you” enhance the message of the PSA. Overall, the piece flows, allowing the viewer’s eye to follow the floating figures to the heart in the middle of the piece. The use of the light blue background contrasts the dark purple outlining and heart in the center. Through the use of repetition, contrast in color, shape, and unity, the PSA effectively conveys its message of the importance of authenticity to the audience.

Process

Here is a screenshot of the Adobe Illustrator interface of when I was working. As you can see, there are many many layers!