Comic Bans
︎Art Direction, Social, Web Design, Motion, Video Ad
︎Art Direction, Social, Web Design, Motion, Video Ad
December 2024
With Ben Stone-Zelman (copy writer)
Challenge (provided by Monotype): Create a campaign that tackles Freedom vs. Law & Order throught a use of typeface
Target Audience: Socially and politically active Gen Z and Gen Alpha individuals
Insight: Censorship, meant to "protect," ironically silences marginalized voices, especially those of LGBTQ+ individuals and people of color. Instead of shielding society, it erases vital perspectives and fosters ignorance.
︎︎︎
- Freedom: To read books, articles and documents that embrace trauma, sexuality, and racial freedom
- Law & Order: Public schools are sheltering these concepts by banning books and censoring their teachings
- Argument: Students should be able to read challenging books and have access to important information about our world, even the controversial sides
Target Audience: Socially and politically active Gen Z and Gen Alpha individuals
Insight: Censorship, meant to "protect," ironically silences marginalized voices, especially those of LGBTQ+ individuals and people of color. Instead of shielding society, it erases vital perspectives and fosters ignorance.
︎︎︎
Video Ad
This will be a video ad featured on YouTube, Disney+, and TikTok (platforms frequented by Gen Z and Gen Alpha). The video will have an embedded link you can access on your mobile device or television.
Throughout the campaign, the hashtag “#coverthecontroversial” is used to emphasize the double meaning of the word “cover”.
We are physically covering the controversial phrases and words from banned books, while we are covering (like news coverage) those instances and spreading the awareness around censorship and what Gen Z and Gen Alpha can do.
Throughout the campaign, the hashtag “#coverthecontroversial” is used to emphasize the double meaning of the word “cover”.
We are physically covering the controversial phrases and words from banned books, while we are covering (like news coverage) those instances and spreading the awareness around censorship and what Gen Z and Gen Alpha can do.
OOH
A series of video ads will run out of home, located near libraries and public schools to catch the eyes of students and avid readers impacted by banned books. The ads will introduce our typeface and provide a QR code to our website.
Gender Queer: A Memoir
(banned for LGBTQIA+ content)
Copy:
“Why don‘t you identify as a trans man, instead of nonbinary? I don’t want MORE more gendered traits, I want LESS.”
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Scan to download Comic Bans, and never worry about offending anyone again!
(banned for LGBTQIA+ content)
Copy:
“Why don‘t you identify as a trans man, instead of nonbinary? I don’t want MORE more gendered traits, I want LESS.”
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Scan to download Comic Bans, and never worry about offending anyone again!
Social
Posts like this will be uploaded on a brand new Instagram account called @comicbans. The posts will all use an ironic tone to convey both the stupidity and tyranny of censorship.
Beloved
(banned for discussion of segregation)
Copy:
“Whitepeople believed that whatever the manners, under every dark skin was a jungle.”
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Comic Bans is a typaface programmed to cover up all controversial contents.
Click the link in our bio to download Comic Bans and never offend anyone ever again!
Gender Queer: A Memoir
(banned for LGBTQIA+ content)
Copy:
“I invented and named a lost male twin who had always felt like he should be a girl. If I could just find him we could finally both feel like whole complete people.”
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Comic Bans is a typaface programmed to cover up all controversial contents.
Click the link in our bio to download Comic Bans and never offend anyone ever again!
All Boys Aren’t Blue
(banned for discussion of activism)
Copy:
“When people ask me how I got into activism, I often say, ‘The first person you are ever an activist for is yourself.’”
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Comic Bans is a typaface programmed to cover up all controversial contents.
Click the link in our bio to download Comic Bans and never offend anyone ever again!
The Hate U Give
(banned for anti-police messaging)
Copy:
“It’s dope to be black until it’s hard to be black.”
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Comic Bans is a typaface programmed to cover up all controversial contents.
Click the link in our bio to download Comic Bans and never offend anyone ever again!
Website
When users scan the QR code in our video ad or click on the link on our socials, here is the site it leads them to.
It allows users to download the typeface, as well as gives more information about the efforts with Comic Bans, especially through donations to National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC).
It allows users to download the typeface, as well as gives more information about the efforts with Comic Bans, especially through donations to National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC).