The Best of New York
A grassroots campaign focused on local action and community participation.
The Problem:
People hate New York City, and it’s easy to understand why. Housing is too expensive, the subway is always delayed, and if you’d like to use the bathroom, well, good luck finding a public restroom. But as a native New Yorker, I believe that NYC is one of the best cities in the world. Here, you can find every food imaginable—Korean in Murray Hill, Guyanese in Jamaica, and Indian in Jackson Heights. You can also go to any park and join in on a game of handball or basketball, no questions asked.
New Yorkers deserve all the good points, from the culture to the flocks of pigeons. But, they also deserve housing. However, while working in community service throughout my teen years, I realized that giving information without a point of action leads to stagnation. We have this information—now what? It was imperative, then, to provide a simple way to engage with the issue.
The Solution:
By creating pre-addressed and stamped postcards with guiding questions, people can simply write what they feel (in Spanish too!) and chuck it in the mailbox. No hassle needed. This takes away much of the logistical thinking that prevents people from engaging with local politics. Furthermore, the posters themselves can be easily printed and wheatpasted, while the stickers are designed to be recognizable even while stuck on a stoplight pole. A grassroots campaign with a cohesive visual identity reminds people that their beliefs can have form, and with form, comes change.
The final designs use vintage cutouts to evoke an earlier time period where people could more easily afford housing, in order to remind viewers that what was once possible can still be. The film photos are also taken in the city, showing community members and real lives, solidifying the campaign as truly by New Yorkers for New Yorkers.