Digital Poster, Stop Hunger

Posters have long been used for public health campaigns and in times of crisis. Whether they’re pasted to a wall, hung in a coffee shop, or placed on a billboard, posters are a medium to quickly and clearly communicate to the public. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, Poster House collaborated with PRINT Magazine, Times Square Arts, and For Freedoms to launch a citywide poster campaign titled #CombatCovid. More than twenty artists took part in the initiative, contributing pieces that promoted health and safety as well as messages of solidarity with New York City’s frontline workers. Through partnerships with LinkNYC, JCDecaux, Silvercast, Pearl Media, and Times Square Arts, Poster House displayed the posters on nearly 1,800 digital screens throughout the city including at bus shelters and newsstands, on a double-sided billboard at the base of the Lincoln Tunnel, and on the iconic billboards of Times Square.

David Plunkart’s poster design depicts an empty stomach resulting from an empty plate, both in the form of a stop sign. COVID-19 exacerbated significant problems related to food insecurity and hunger that New York City had long faced. The poster’s colors—black and white on a red ground—convey immediacy, with a call to action across the top: “Invest in The Food Bank.”

Digital Poster, Stop Hunger; Designed by David Plunkert (American, b. 1965); image (computer generated); Gift of David Plunkert; 2022-10-1