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SUCCESS SUCCESS
Working to End Sexual Exploitation
Harrington Communication Design students work with a local community organization.
words by dan elliott
photography by joe byrnes
Harrington Communication Design students
Rachael Pobst, Katelyn Smith, Elise Weiler, Cari Hogan,
Allyson Murphy, and Hailey Ransom-Schultz; of
the Senior Design Studio 2 class instructed by Dan
Elliott; had the opportunity to work with the Chicago
Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) in
the 2010 Summer Semester. CAASE was looking
to develop a series of designs that would raise
awareness to the client’s cause and gain support for
their “End Demand, Illinois” campaign from the local
community. These designs would work as posters
as well as bus and “el” ads that did not employ
“stereotypical” imagery to convey the message.
This project allowed the students to work with a
non-profit organization and witness first-hand the
effect design can have on and for a community.
One of the goals for the students was to effectively
raise awareness of the client’s cause and attract
attention to the “End Demand, Illinois” website
(www.enddemandillinois.org). The website offers
a definition of what CAASE is trying to accomplish.
“The ‘End Demand, Illinois’ campaign is a multi-year
organizing and advocacy effort to transform Illinois’
response to prostitution and sex trafficking;
advocate for the creation of tools and resources for
law enforcement to prosecute traffickers, pimps,
and those who profit from prostitution; deter men
from buying sex; and create social supports and
services for trafficked and prostituted individuals.”
According to caase.org, that is what reinforces their
overall vision. “CAASE is committed to building a
global community free from sexual exploitation.
We know that all forms of sexual exploitation,
including sexual assault and the commercial sex
trade, are detrimental to a healthy society and
undermine the dignity of all people.”
Directing attention to these websites is only part
of the problem the students needed to solve. The
other issue was to give insight into the gravity,
weight, and nature of the issue. The students began
by reading over a packet given by CAASE containing
startling figures about sexual exploitation and their
goals to proceed in realizing their vision. With this
information, the students researched previous
examples of campaigns aimed at increasing
awareness about similar issues. They gathered
images and videos to use as inspiration on how to
approach such a heavy topic. Rachel Durchslag,
Executive Director at CAASE, impressed with the
students’ process and work commented, “The
class was one of the most thoughtful and creative
that we have worked with to date. They thoroughly
researched issues of sexual exploitation before
they started their work, and they developed poster
designs and concepts that were some of the most
powerful, innovative, and impressive that we have
seen.” One of the problems the client had with
previous campaigns done by other organizations is
that they relied on imagery depicting prostitution
laden with stereotypes. This was not a direction
the client or the students saw as being socially
responsible or beneficial to the cause. The intent
was to raise awareness about the problem, not
reinforce categorically false ideas. Katelyn Smith,
one of the design students, commented on this
saying, “Before working with CAASE, I had a
different (misinformed) understanding of what it
meant to be in the sex trade. Hopefully, we will bring
light to the subject for many other people too.”
Avoiding the use of stereotypical images and using
their research as a guide, the students began
brainstorming new ways to engage viewers with
their work and interact with the information.
The students took several different approaches.
One student used information graphics as a way
to show the enormity of the statistics. She created
a series of posters representing different types of
Design by Katelyn Smith
information all pertaining to the sex trade. One
poster illustrated the amount of men purchasing
sex in a single minute in Chicago alone. While
dealing with the realization that this information is
hard to approach as a viewer, two students chose
to personify the information to make the message
emotionally connect with the audience.
At the beginning of the project, the client made a
comment about how every prostituted woman is
someone’s daughter, sister, friend, etc. This made
the message more than mere facts and fueled
the desire for the students to convey that emotion
through their work. Both students working with
a similar motive came to two distinctly different
solutions. One photographed a 15th birthday cake
and a birthday present juxtaposed with facts on the
average age girls are first purchased for sex. The
other student represented the facts as doodles in
a teenage girl’s sketchbook. They both created a
connection with the viewer and the innocence of
youth with very powerful solutions that allow the
audience to emotionally connect with the message.
Another direction one of the students took was to
directly change the definition of prostitution. This being
one of the main goals of CAASE and their campaign,
the student felt it was important to address the issue
upfront. The posters show a definition torn out of
paper and the word “victim” taped over the definition
for prostitute. Breaking the silence for the prostituted
women and giving them a voice.
Design by Elise Weiler
This project, from the research to the completion,
was a tremendous experience for the students.
Elise Weiler shared about her involvement stating
that, “Working with CAASE was a great experience.
Through this project, we were able to increase
awareness for an important organization and also
have the benefit of working with a real client in a
classroom setting.” Katelyn Smith also commented
on the value of the project stating, “CAASE was
such an amazing client that gave us an opportunity
to work towards a great cause.” One thing that
Harrington College of Design takes pride in is giving
its students real world experience and this project is
no exception. The students were able to work for a
great cause and could see how their work can create
change in their local community, city, state, country,
and even the world. This experience, among others,
prepares the students with the knowledge that design
is a powerful tool that can give hope and voices to
the voiceless to make the world a better place.
“ This project allowed the students
to work with a non-profit organization
and witness first-hand the effect design
can have on and for a community.”
24 artistikmagazine.com | WINTER 2011
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Design by Cari Hogan