We may live in the age of the digital, but the poster refuses to go away—whether as a keepsake, and art object, or out in the world fighting for our attention. If the eyes have it, as they say, then the poster always will, too.
There has been an almost nonstop parroting of how technology (and by extension, design) has better connected us all and built stronger communal bonds. Created for a San Francisco Design Week benefit auction that interprets the concept of “commUNITY,” this poster challenges one to question this assumption. When we walk the streets with our faces buried in our phones to check Instagram likes; when we eschew public transportation or biking for the insulation and convenience of ride-sharing; when we protest the building of new, affordable housing or homeless shelters in NIMBY fits or rage; well, it feels a lot more like ‘I’ than ‘WE’. Connectivity ≠ Community.
(The poster garnered one of the top dollar amounts for a single poster at the auction.)