Thank you for smoking. You subsidize my art. If you find yourself in Sacramento in July, Abby VanCannon, Victoria Montgomery, and I will be proving the theory that artists are hoarders — this is just a sneak peak. Gallery 21 Ten. Go see it.
Design #67: Living in a Chemical Nightmare
Lately it's struck me how many chemicals we use in, on, and around our bodies. I shudder to think of all the junk my body comes in contact with on a daily basis. Today's design speaks to that (I'm choosing to pick on cigarettes). Apparently, there is a list of around 600 additives that have been approved by the United States government for use in the manufacture of cigarettes. The ampersand in this design stands for all of the other ingredients not listed below.
STRAIGHT FROM THE MASTERS OF DESIGN
Pentagram has a post on their blog about the possible new regulations for cigarettes. Designs by DJ Stout, a Pentagram Partner. Love it.
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This month the Senate approved new legislation that will heavily restrict the nicotine content and marketing of cigarettes, including the requirement that colorful ads and displays be replaced with black-and-white-only text. The bill is expected to pass in the House and President Obama has said he will sign it. For a piece in its Sunday Perspectives section, the St. Petersburg Times asked DJ Stout what cigarette manufacturers like Marlboro might do to follow the new marketing rules. (The full article is print only; we’ve posted it here.) Stout suggests that to comply with the crackdown, tobacco companies should embrace the restrictions and make cigarettes look truly dangerous. This, of course, will still appeal to a core group of smokers.
“Over the years there has been an onslaught of public awareness messaging about the evils of smoking,” says Stout. “Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last 50 years you are very aware that smoking is not only bad for you, it could very likely kill you. All smokers know this for sure but it doesn’t deter them.
“Our marketing advice to cigarette companies in the new heavily regulated era is to fully accept the new aggressive anti-smoking restrictions and wallow in the government’s apocalyptic health warnings. Don’t make excuses or dance around the stepped-up marketing regulations, just transform the whole cigarette pack into a three dimensional warning label.”
