Prints created to clarify COVID-19 information are selling well online, following their initial launch at Melbourne Design Week in March.
The prints from the Mistranslations exhibition were designed to bridge the cultural and linguistic gap between communications from official sources and diverse, multicultural communities throughout Australia.
Re Agency built on Melbourne Design Week’s brief ‘Design the world you want’ to visually communicate COVID-19 information with care whilst supporting the government’s efforts to reach every Australian.
Sales went online on September 22. Re Agency associate design director Sumita Maharaj says the prints are appealing to Australian and international audiences.
"We’ve been really encouraged by initial sales, with purchases coming from Australia and overseas. The strong response to the store has been amazing and we’ve been humbled by the show of support from the wider community who have really embraced this project."
Proceeds go towards Connection Arts Space (CAS), a community-focused arts organisation in the City of Greater Dandenong, which prioritises artists of asylum seeker and migrant backgrounds.
Mistranslations is the work of 48 designers coming together to design 18 prints in 26 languages. Artists engaged with impacted minority groups to get the right message across. In one submission, an English-speaking designer collaborated with an Indigenous Djambarrpuyngu-speaking park ranger.
Maharaj says this communication was integral to the success of the exhibition, held at HONEY BONES gallery in Collingwood, and the artwork.
“At its heart, this exhibition aimed to promote inclusivity and transparency for underrepresented members of the community. These posters firmly put communication back in the hands of the minorities it directly affected, allowing them to speak for themselves, in their own voice.
“As a team, we have been so inspired by the creative response, the submissions were uniquely insightful and full of a nuance that has been missed by more generic mass communication.”
Prints are available at: https://mistranslations.store/
Credits:
Agency: Re Agency
Executive Creative Director: Andy Thomas
Creative Director: Shannon Bell
Copy Director: Jane Duru
Design Director: Sumita Maharaj
Creatives: Michelle Mondel, Annabel Cook, Chantelle Micallef, Dee Marcela
Photographer: Jack Gruber
Videographer: Anthony Bowler
Gallery Space: Honey Bones
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