the messenger

It was imperative to dedicate a substantial amount of time to researching and truly understanding the history of Aboriginal communities in Canada, whose culture has been oppressed and misunderstood by Canadians since the early days of colonisation. The ideation portion of the project was dedicated to straying from stereotypical imagery and instead creating empowering visuals that honour and respect Aboriginal culture and language. Experimentation with different mediums and typographic treatment led to a variety of possible outcomes.

The concept of bird as messenger, which was created using a scanned linocut, was inspired by a quote from aboriginal author Leanne Howe (Choctaw Nations):"[…] our stories are unending connections to past, present, and future. And, even if worse comes to worst and people forget where we left out stories, the birds will remember and bring them back to us." The colour yellow in the background was chosen for its positivity and optimism, while the colour red for the typography was selected to represent vibrance, strength and determination.