The Salvation Army Celebrates Earth Day With The Help Of TWO
Recognised globally, the Salvation Army is one of the world’s most well-known and respected charities, serving in more than 130 countries. So, when TWO got a call asking if we would help design and produce artwork for an exhibition promoting and celebrating Earth Day 2022, it was an easy yes!
What exactly is Earth Day?
Earth Day is an annual event held on the 22nd of April which demonstrates collective, world-wide support for environmental protection, something that has become increasingly important with the rise of global warming.
First held on April 22nd, 1970, the International day now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org, with over one billion people across the world taking part.
EarthDay.org’s mission is to ‘diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide’. It is now the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 150,000 partners in over 192 countries to drive positive action for our planet.
The need to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century to keep the global temperature below 1.5°C has never been greater. The urgent action that is required resulted in the official and timely theme of Earth Day 2022 being to ‘Invest in Our Planet’.
How did TWO help out?
The artwork required for the Earth Day 2022 exhibition consisted of a selection of printed elements including an initial wireframe for all designs, lightbox artwork for display in the main windows of the reception, plinth artwork, an advert for City AM newspaper, an A4 poster for in-house promotion and stickers – to name just a few!
The brief was fairly open and the deadline was tight, but the TWO design team got straight to work researching colourways and imagery that would complement the Salvation Army’s messaging and create a highly impactful and eye-catching display. Whilst the designers were busy with their creative flow, the Project Management team oversaw all communication between the client, designers and printers to ensure the project ran as smoothly as possible and all deadlines were met.
Installed on the ground floor of the Salvation Army’s HQ in London, the exhibition is running from 20th April to 3rd May 2022 (we would recommend it, obviously)! It occupies a large area within the public café and is open for free. Visitors can read about the relationship between the Salvation Army and Earth Day; There are also several interactive elements to the exhibition, celebrating the ‘power of a tiny seed’!
From the free seed giveaway, where the public can take a packet to grow at home, to a wall where people can leave post-it notes with their pledge to enjoy the natural world, care for the planet or make a change in their personal lives. There is also an interactive plant growing station so people can see the progress of the plants grown at the start of the exhibition and answer questions about the plants themselves.
The exhibition aims to make people really think about how they can make a personal change, no matter how big or small, which will have a positive impact on the natural world, thus helping to ‘Invest in Our Planet’. It’s a powerful reminder to all of us of the importance of collective effort, but also a great opportunity to educate younger people on Earth Day and the importance of looking after our planet.
For any creative, seeing work in situ, in the flesh is a special feeling, but especially so for a creative agency that predominantly specialises in digital over print. Working with the Salvation Army on such an emotive project was a fantastic opportunity for the TWO team to flex their creative muscles on a project outside of their regular financial clients, in a variety of printed formats and on a topic that both resonated with, and will ultimately affect all involved.
Who are The Salvation Army?
The Salvation Army began life on the streets of East London in 1865 and has been fighting against social inequality and transforming lives for over 150 years. The challenges people were experiencing in the late 19th century are much the same as those that many face today. Homelessness, addiction, loneliness and unemployment, combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, have meant many of these challenges have reached unprecedented levels.
Yet despite the difficulties the charity itself has faced due to the events of the last couple of years with Covid-19, the Salvation Army continues its founders work by tackling issues and working at the heart of communities to offer practical help, unconditional assistance and support to transform lives.
Today, the Salvation Army is a church and charity that is active in virtually every corner of the world – serving in more than 130 countries with over 1.7 million members.
What can you do to help?
You can find out more about Earth Day and how you can invest in our planet by visiting https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2022/
If you would like to find out more about the Salvation Army and the work they do, visit https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk