The poster shows a balloon about to burst, with, in the middle, the windows of a hoped-for house. For several days, it has been plastered all over the streets of the city. Titled Pooh, and signed Gabriel Sherrer, it won first prize in the annual social poster competition of the Society of Graphic Designers of Quebec (SDGQ).
Advertising posters rarely focus on social demands. Rather, they sell us cultural or commercial goods, or, in the best case scenario, send us to get vaccinated or wash our hands.
The SDGQ competition probes other waters. For ten years, graphic design students in Quebec have applied their talent to a chosen social cause, this year being that of housing, on the theme “One roof, one right”. The balloon design won first prize. Next comes the representation of François Legault and his ministers, posing, dressed as lords, in front of a palace. Next to it, we can read: “Legault government ministers own an average of $1.6 million in real estate. » The project, signed Laurence Leblanc, is entitled The CAQ always smells… like caviar. This is the second prize. The third winner, Satja Uasamanjit, proposes Great challengethe shadow of an endless staircase which leads to accommodation.
These three posters, like all the winners of the last ten years, line the walls of the UQAM Design Center, in an exhibition on the theme “A roof, a right” which celebrates ten years of the SDGQ competition.
Activist graphics
The criteria for making a good poster are demanding, says Marc H. Choko, professor emeritus at the School of Design, who is at the origin of the competition, and who also gave his name to the scholarships that reward the winners. “You have to have a good idea, you have to be able to convey it with a good image, have good typography, a good overall composition. It is a difficult exercise, but educational. It has to strike at the same time, it has to make the person looking at it work. »
Over the years, aspiring graphic designers have been called upon to illustrate messages on the environment, mental health, immigration, women and empowerment, indigenous languages, public transit, peace, the excesses of social networks and climate change. Each year, the winner of the first prize sees his work displayed in the streets of the city, thanks to the support of Publicité Sauvage and MP Repro.
“Making activist graphics is no different from doing graphics to sell everyday consumer products, whether cars, toothbrushes or pairs of shoes,” adds Mr. Choko.
It is with the help of community organizations dedicated to each of the causes cited, and who participate in the jury, that the competition takes off. This year, the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment supported the students in their approach. The initiative was rolled out in 14 CEGEPs and universities in Quebec offering a graphic design program.
In addition, for the ten years of the competition, we are also organizing an exhibition of all the works selected over the years, i.e. 15 per year. “Each year, the jury selects 15 works for the competition,” he adds. This year, we received 158.” You can currently see this entire production in the Atrium of the McCord Stewart Museum until March 31. The exhibition will also be available in Quebec, Sherbrooke, Gatineau and even in France.