Power: As Explored Through Chess

Poster series, web design, photography

Through a mock design social organization, Impact Studio, this poster campaign installed in high-traffic areas of New York takes action against the skewed power dynamics of society today.

For my Graphic Design Studio I final project, I explored visual rhetoric through three applications, focusing on power amid the 2024 presidential election. Chess became a metaphor for modern power structures, leading to research on piece movements and symbolic layouts. After refining digital compositions and testing word choices, I defined my target audience: young people affected by those in power. The final posters addressed gender, race, and leadership in power dynamics with a bold message. To expand their impact, I created Impact Studio, a mock organization inspired by Creative Time, and designed a campaign placing posters in NYC’s high-traffic areas. This project deepened my ability to merge research, design, and social impact into a cohesive visual campaign.

Case Study

THE MESSAGE & IMPACT

STILL OVER SEXUALIZED?

This installation focuses on the lack of women in positions of power and how they are oversexualized in the workplace. Instead of being seen as professionals, many women are seen as having agreed to be attractive and sexy at work in order to get their way. This perception is created by the insecure men in power.

This poster is installed right outside a Fortune 500 company in New York City that has a women CEO that feels as though she is sexualized in the workplace and not taken as seriously as her male employees.

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GET PLAYED

You are getting played. The “pawns” of the world are “getting played” (do I even need to put that in quotes?) by those in power positions. Power positions are often filled with greed and decisions that benefit the upper 1%. Especially for minorities, those in power fail to factor in those who are less represented. Not only do minorities have a lack of representation in power, but there are systemic laws that go against their rights. These pawns are getting played. People in power need to stop treating humans like everything is a game.

This poster is installed at a high-traffic bus stop in New York City for all the “pawns” to see.

POWER IS HIDING

See that queen in power over the pawns? Now see what’s behind her? The king. Power hides in places where we don’t expect it. Even in the roles of women and minority leaders, there is still someone above them in many cases. Especially in large umbrella companies, power dynamics are skewed with those with excess greed that want total control. Let’s make sure the queens voice is just as strong.

This poster is installed in the New York Subway as a call to action for those on their way to work where they experience these toxic power dynamics.

This poster is installed at a high-traffic bus stop in New York City for all the “pawns” to see.