British Heart Foundation: the poster series

You are what you eat

This case study appears in these showcases

• Publications showcase
• Excellence in communications showcase

More case studies from British Heart Foundation

• British Heart Foundation’s: ‘calculate the cost of heart disease’ mailing

SOFII's view

Medium of communication:

Type of charity:

Country of origin:

Creator/originator:

Burnett Associates Limited, with BHF

Name of exhibitor:

Date of first appearance:

Summary/objectives:

Each poster has its own clear educational objective. Each had to look interesting, striking and attractive while explain a complex message forcefully but in a manner to which each audience might respond.

Background:

Everyone has a heart. Everyone has a vested interest in ensuring that their heart keeps on working (and those of their loved ones, too).
These were fun and colourful ways of getting across a varied range of important and potentially complex messages.

Special Characteristics:

Each poster had to be sufficiently colourful, attractive, powerful and informative for people to want to put it up on their wall. Each poster was conceived individually with a specific audience in mind. A different illustrator was chosen for each poster though the main illustrator for ‘How your heart works’ and “Don’t follow the crowd…’ was a talented young man called John Lucas.

Influence/Impact:

Demand for these posters, particularly from schools, was very high and they were being reprinted regularly into the new millennium.

Merits:

Because they are quirky, pretty, clever and they show a range of ways in which a research organisation can use its mission constructively to provide valuable public education resources.