Making a difference with poster design.

Making a difference with poster design. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There are few projects I will repeat, but this is one I do becauseit gives our kids an opportunity to contribute to a very worthy cause. Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) encouragesschools to participate in their annual fundraising campaign bysubmitting designs to their poster contest. Each year, this is assignedto my junior class art students. A panel of media professionals examines the artwork submitted eachyear, and chooses the signature image for the year's fund-raisingcampaign. Each design is required to include a teddy bear, which is partof CHEO's corporate image. People who live in the Ottawa-Carleton region recognize theoutstanding work CHEO does for our community. In fact, many Merivalestudents have been to CHEO for treatment during their formative yearsand know firsthand how important the institution is to our city. ELEMENTS FOR SUCCESS The process begins with reviewing the elementsthat combine to make a successful poster. Students are told the postershave to communicate from a distance, and are advised to use brightcolors and to keep their artwork simple and direct. Students are alsoinformed the selection committee will be looking for gender-free artworkthat features a teddy bear character, and their creations have toreflect the hospital's theme, which changes each year. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With these design parameters in mind, the students started by doinga series of exercises in their sketchbooks using teddy bears brought toclass to serve as still-life samples. The excercises include: * quick 60-second pencil sketches of a teddy bear done head-on; * quick 60-second pencil sketches of a bear done from anotherangle; * detailed sketches of all or part of a bear that must include theface; * simplified, "cartoon-like" drawings of a bear in eitherpencil or ink; * sketches of a teddy bear in an "action pose"; * sketches of part of a bear, including the face, coming out of apicture frame; [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * sketches of a teddy bear, using a #10 round brush. After the students complete these exploratory drawings, they arefree to generate more complex compositions in their sketchbooks. Theyare encouraged to use their exploratory exercises as a starting point inthe creative process. All projects are completed in a strong vertical format on 26"x 20" cover stock in acrylic paint, with room left on the topregister to allow for the silkscreening of the CHEO text. The studentsconsistently respond with many creative submissions, which are proudlydisplayed in our annual art show in time to support the fundraisingefforts. LEARNING AND PARTICIPATING Artwork by Merivale students has wonthis prestigious design contest in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011. Winningimages are selected from thousands of entries submitted by children ofall ages in the Ottawa-Carleton region. Badges, hoodies, T-shirts, golf shirts, hats and, yes, teddy bears,are produced and sold with all profits going to the hospital. When a student wins the competition, he or she gets to host thelaunch of the image, which is used everywhere in EasternOntario--advertising venues and, of course, the set for the Telethon onTV. The design also appears in newspapers, on posters, even on buses. To launch the fund-raiser, local newscaster Max Keeping--for whomthe CHEO Telethon has been a personal project for many years--visits theschool to present the winner his or her award at an assembly. It'sa great day for the student, the school and the community. This project is successful on a number of different levels. Itcertainly is an appropriate vehicle to teach students about posterdesign. More importantly, though, it allows graphic designstudents--and, vicariously, the entire school--an opportunity toparticipate in what they all recognize is a very important communityevent. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LEARNING OBJECTIVES High-school students will ... * learn about poster design and create a poster for a fund-raisingcampaign. * make a generous creative contribution to their community. MATERIALS * Sketchbooks and pencils * Teddy bears for visual reference * Acrylic paint * #10 round brush * 26" x 20" cover stock Irv Osterer is the Department Head-Fine Arts, Languages at MerivaleHigh School in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.