Teach & Breathe: A Case Study
There’s a common necessity that teachers all over the world forget to do when things get tough: Breathe.
Teach & Breathe was a client looking for a series of posters that could help encourage and empathize with teachers during one of the most trying times of their careers. The COVID-19 pandemic caused thousands of schools to switch to remote learning and that turned everything on its head. Suddenly, teachers were having to figure out how to convert their lesson plans into distance-learning material when some kids don’t even know how to properly use the mute button. Stressful doesn’t even begin to cover it.
I honestly wasn’t sure how to approach this at first since I only have the experience of being the child of a teacher. To build my foundation, I decided to bug my teacher friends (Thanks Amanda and Amber!) and they gave me the low down of what it’s like to try and teach over Zoom. I asked what advice they’d give to a peer and out of all of the things they told me, these stood out:
- Your world has been turned upside down, but so has theirs. “I think having bonds with your students and having compassion is even more important this year than any other year.”
- “It’s better that they learn something rather than nothing.”
- Not everyone has a great home life, so sometimes you have to be that for them.
Putting these huge meanings into a simple poster seemed like stuffing a camel through the eye of a needle. I needed to put these incredibly meaningful tips onto overprint letterpress posters, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, so I did what I always do when I’m at a loss for words: I draw.
I put the proverbial pencil to the paper (in this case the Apple Pencil to the iPad screen) and got to work drawing out what I thought these could look like. I had a two-week deadline, so I got to work immediately. I started with a different design for one of the three posters (Teachers: The O.G. Influencers) and switched it (Keep in mind: Some learning is better than no learning) to keep the theme more cohesive.
With roughs in hand, I jumped onto my PC and got to crafting on Photoshop and Illustrator. It took some fuel (in the form of coffee) and a lot of tweaking, but I was happy with the result: a weathered but bright, subtle nod to the struggle of the audience that they may be tired, but they are often the light in a child’s life.
Teachers, I want to say thank you for all that you do. Sit down, relax, and take a breath. You deserve it.
