I Would Be Here if I Could
I Would Be Here If I Could is UK's largest social art project and the idea of artist Alison Larkman. 1.5 million people are missing from society in the UK alone due to ME and long covid. Most are bed-bound and can only imagine getting back to the places they love and hold in their mind. An ambitious project that exists to amplify the absence whilst aiming to reconnect them to the places they long for most. The identity explores the concepts of time and space.
Using typography to amplify the absence
Bold and condensed, typography forms the base of the idenity. Klim's Manuka font with its different weights and delicate was chosen for humanistic characteristis, the tall characters representing the self and the fragility of life. The title of the work was set in diminishing weights of the font - drawing comparisons to memories, physical presecence of the body itself. Not wanting to create a logo as such, the type continues throughout the identity, giving it impact while communicating bigger concepts.
Importance of colour
IWBHIIC is an ambitious project which much like the work of charities, relies on public and private donations to help activate its ideas. We looked outside of the art world and to how charities use colour to differentiate and drew on that approach to create a stronger identity.
Memories fade
Using glass effect overlays over location imagery we could play with time and space to represent the shifting physicalities and memories of those absent from society.
Tone through typography
We used contrasting type to represent the different voices. More emotive copy and the transcripts from those absent were displayed in a serif for softness, while more factual messaging used a less emotive sans serif.
An invitation to share
On-location printed comms. Monlithic stacked messaging expressing more human-like characteristics aim to help you see what someone once saw. Repetition communicates the scale of those absent.
Collaborators
Artist: Alison Larkman
Strategy: Bynada.co.uk
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