Impressed? As we all know about graphic has more power to dominate human’s awareness, designer has become one of the most important profession to fight against poverty. In this article, I would use the perception of an amateur designer to express about several ideas for a designer to save the people from the hell of poverty.
It’s about love
Today is the Blog Action Day 2008, and the topic is about ‘Poverty’. Falcon Hive is one of the blog that participated into this movement and would like to share some thought to help the needed one, based on the perception of an amateur designer.
Before the point, I would like to state about this article is not related with any political society. I write because I love, and I want to help by doing what I can do! So please enjoy this article with the eyes of peace, and I hope my thoughts can at least give you some idea to help the poor!
Blog template or theme can actually save the world
Since Web log (Blog) is becoming the main role of the information world, why don’t we design Blog template or theme that contains the poverty’s information to raise the awareness of the people about poverty?
The idea is come from the Wretch, one of the biggest Taiwan blog service provider which introduce the template that contains charity-based picture as the design. To tell you a miracle, the charity-based template below was applied 198839 times, so you can see the desire of the blogger to help the poor and the effectiveness of the blog template to spread the charity information.
A blog’s template from Wretch.cc which talks about the donation for the charity organization
There are 2 kind of charity-based templates can be designed. The first is the template with some poverty images as the design, and the second is designed with certain charity organization’s logo or banner, in order to promote the activity of the charity organization. If you are a super creative designer, you can also create the template that mixes 2 ideas above. Anyway, let your creative template save the poor!
Professional website accept banner
It seems impossible for a professional blog or website like Smashing Magazine to accept extra big charity-based graphic hanging on their most important header (which they always use to attract visitor) and decrease their traffic as fast as possible. In this condition, different size of banner can be designed for the convenience of the famous website.
Various size for various need
As the event holder, BlogActionDay.org has done a very good job on their banner size. They have provided several size of the banner. This is very important because different website has their own specification for the size of the ads and banner.
For example, Falcon Hive has no enough space to place the banner except the 125×125 advertising area, so the 125×125 FreeRice.com banner is the best choice for Hive to promote FreeRice.com.
Various size banner for various need of the website
There are many example size of the banner in the Resource page, you can visit and refer them for your next design that shines to save the poor!
Donation is always the practical way for designer, especially when they haven’t finish their great design.
Design takes time to produce the best work, but never let this be the reason to excuse your daily charity work. As we are still rich, material is always what we can give to help the needed one.
Your Junk= Their Treasure
Well, be practical, your unused low quality drawing paper, pencil and even dirty brushes can be donated to become the treasure of the poor children. If you are a computer graphic designer, you can also collect your broken mouse and drawing pad to sell for donation.
Profit, your role is to save people
If you still feel like not enough, you can donate certain percentage of your month’s profit to the needed one. Falcon Hive is founded with the promise about every author has to give 10% of his profit for charity work on every month. We just want to help them as many as possible, as we know the death from poverty is as fast as our help.
Other nice idea from BlogActionDay.org
Besides my thoughts, there are still many nice ideas in the internet world to do about the poverty. Here are some quotes on how design can help the poor from the article 88 Ways to DO Something About Poverty Right Now in BlogActionDay.org:
12. Find a gripping picture or video having to do with poverty and publish it on the Web.
22. Designers for Blog Action Day group on Flickr. Submit your designs:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bad2008design/
61. Organize a drawing competition for kids on the poverty theme and exhibit their works in a local school or community centre.
70. Pictures. It’s one thing to say that the milk my son spilled at lunch this afternoon was more than some kids get. But some people don’t see how real that is unless they’re looking at a picture.So, I’m looking for them.
85. Do a campaign of creative advertisements for public awareness and a call to action. Do a poster, do an ambient campaign, write a radio or TV spot.
Watch at them, think about yourself
Before I want to close my article, I would like to invite you to see an animated work from the Poverty.com. Simply access into http://www.poverty.com, and you can see an animated map which shows the dead people’s photo on certain date, result from the poverty. Please watch at them and think about yourself.
Your works is precious for them, and please, do something for them.