I have created a series based on the idea of motivational posters - positive yet ambiguous, instructive but not necessarily providing instructions. I was inspired by propaganda, public information sloganeering and platitudes masquerading as official communication.
With this in mind, I used idioms and sayings as a starting point for the illustrations, adopting a light-hearted 1960s style to convey each message. I recently read that some companies during that era adopted a playful tone in order to promote behaviour while avoiding the feeling that they were telling the public what to do.
The logo on each poster is that of the Ministry of Optimistic Directives (also known as MOOD), a doubleplusgood fictional government department.
© Zara Picken 2020 www.zarapicken.com
