NHS health posters

I thought since I am doing what could effectively be an awareness campaign, it would be useful to look at existing NHS health posters.  The NHS campaigns are a mix of levels of warnings - some are gentle reminders for people to get checked up while others are cautionary tales of the effects of smoking/sunburn/heart disease etc.  Public health posters have to persuade people into taking action for themselves, whether through subtly implied warnings or those that are blatant and at time quite confronting to the viewer.  It will be helpful to look at the combination of type and image and whether or not one supports the other.

Anti-Smoking

Smoking continues to be a major issue in the public health service, with well-known risks to health overall.  Anti-smoking campaigns tend to be quite visceral (Fig 2) and/or centred around risks to the health of children, due to the easy emotional hit parents can get from viewing images of children being badly affected by smoke (Figures 1, 2,).  Photography is used for it's sense of immediacy and realism - illustrations could work but photography is grittier if used in the right way, and helps to enforce the seriousness of the message to parents.

All the typography used here is sans-serif, which means the letters are more legible from a distance against the images.  The type is used as a secondary device to enforce the image - it could be argued that outwith the poster information regulations of the NHS, the images could be presented as is and speak for themselves.  I think the text is smaller and lets the image do the work.

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3

Sexual Health

These posters use humorous, slightly sexualised images mimicking a fashion advertisement to playfully warn young people about the risks of catching STDs.  I like how the poster hints at the typical night out scenario when someone looks at another person they don't know and thinks about going home with them.  The mix of typographies is quite grungy, and the message of "I'll give you one" is shown in bold red letters to heed as a warning.  The informative text is placed at the bottom of the poster to give the image precedence.  Here, the image and text are equal in the image - without explanatory text, the image may be interpreted as a much cruder message.  

Fig 4

Fig 5

Childhood Obeisity

Fig 6

This poster is pretty grim - the child's face has been manipulated to look like that of a stroke sufferer, which in itself has shock value.  Then the text, outlined to look more child-like, predicts the future of the child if he were to continue having an unhealthy weight.  Like the other posters, informative text is placed at the bottom of the poster to give the image and main text precedence.  By contrast, the posters below (which are available from the NHS website as templates for local councils) are friendly and even pleasant to look at.  These posters encourage over-40s to go for a free health check, so there is no need for shock value imagery or punchy typography.  The type used here is sans-serif so it is legible from a distance, and feels informative but friendly.

Fig 7

Fig 8

Sun protection

This project is a little different - a final year project for graphic design student Chloe Joyce, who used peeling paper to literally present the effects of sunburn.  The editorial was done for Cancer Research rather than the NHS, but I still thought it would fit in with this post.  

The cover has been made to remind the reader of a vintage beach postcard, and has an effect of having been bleached by the sun.  The paper seems crackly and parched, which acts as a perfect secondary warning of the effects of spending too much time in the sun.   On the pages below, the paper literally peels off as sunburnt skin does, and in conjunction with the blocky type create a design that is not delicate in it's warnings.

Fig 9

Fig 10

I think this is great - the sunburn in bold type at the end works well as a kind of harsh full stop to the text.  Here readers can scratch the illustration, resulting in layers of it peeling off.  The image of the arm benefits from being an illustration as it works better with the worn look of the leaflet, and by interpreting sunburn with paint, Joyce has been able to make it look worse by giving it more layers and colours.

Fig 11

Fig 12

Looking at these images has been a good study of how images and text work with each other.  Some images rely on text to make them understood, while others use it only as an elaboration for the warning they serve to the public.  Analysing the typography has also helped me to think more about type in itself and what kind of message, mood or voice different fonts put across just by the way they are shaped.  While I will likely not be using images such as the ones in these campaigns, it was useful to look at what methods were used in the images (mostly photography for realism) and the nature of the photographs (manipulated and manipulating), as they are examples of the methods the NHS use to address public health issues in a way that intends to persuade the viewer into changing habits.

References

Fig 1- Smokefree by National Health Service, 2005.  Secondhand Smoke is a Killer. [online] Available at:

http://resources.smokefree.nhs.uk/news/campaigns/2005-smokefree-campaign-secondhand-smoke-is-a-killer/

[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 2 - Smokefree by National Health Service, 2012.  Smokefree homes and cars. [online] Available at:

http://resources.smokefree.nhs.uk/news/campaigns/smokefree-homes-cars-secondhand-smoke/

[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 3 - Smokefree by National Health Service, 2013.  NHS Smokefree Health Harms [online] Available at:  http://blog.solopress.com/printing/posters/new-anti-smoking-advertising-campaign-is-another-shocker/
[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 4 - Department of Health, 2007.  Condom Essential Wear [online] Available at:
http://www.healthresources.ssotp.nhs.uk/HPAC/MoreDetails.jsp?id=6356&dsn=hpstoke&subjectId=24&referrer=http://www.healthresources.ssotp.nhs.uk/HPAC/BrowseSearch.jsp?subjectId=24&typeId=P&submit=true&sort=dater&page=1
[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 5 - Department of Health, 2007.  Condom Essential Wear [online] Available at:
http://www.healthresources.ssotp.nhs.uk/HPAC/MoreDetails.jsp?id=6356&dsn=hpstoke&subjectId=24&referrer=http://www.healthresources.ssotp.nhs.uk/HPAC/BrowseSearch.jsp?subjectId=24&typeId=P&submit=true&sort=dater&page=1
[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 6 - National Health Service and Rankin, 2010.  Kids on Track [online] Available at:

https://kanwalkalim.wordpress.com/2010/10/02/nhs-recruits-rankin-to-tackle-child-obesity/

[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 7 - National Health Service, 2014.  NHS Health Check Roller Banner [online] Available at:

http://www.healthcheck.nhs.uk/commissioners_and_healthcare_professionals/marketing_and_branding/visuals_and_posters/

[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 8 - National Health Service, 2014. NHS Health Check Advert [online] Available at:

http://www.healthcheck.nhs.uk/commissioners_and_healthcare_professionals/marketing_and_branding/visuals_and_posters/

[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 9 - Joyce, Chloe, 2014. Editorial front page [online] Available at:

http://www.chloejoycedesign.com/#/editorial/
[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 10 - Joyce, Chloe, 2014. Editorial pages 1-2 [online] Available at:
http://www.chloejoycedesign.com/#/editorial/
[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 11 - Joyce, Chloe, 2014. Editorial pages 3-4 [online] Available at:
http://www.chloejoycedesign.com/#/editorial/
[Accessed 15th January]

Fig 12 -  Joyce, Chloe, 2014. Editorial pages 5-6 [online] Available at:
http://www.chloejoycedesign.com/#/editorial/
[Accessed 15th January]