The First iRapture

Photo by Amy Rolph/seattlepi.com

I'm backkkk. No it wasn't the rapture. It's been a week of grading, business, travel and service interruptions, but I've saved up a few things to post soon. With another anticipated judgement day just a week away, I thought I would share a local sighting of a billboard on Aurora Avenue, one of our finest corridors of signage proliferation in North Seattle. I think if anyone is judged on judgement day, it will be the marketing department of the WeCanKnow.org, the official site of the Family Radio group predicting the end of times next Saturday, May 21st. Don't they know how ridiculous their signage looks with the random alignment and such a goofy layout? And witness their traveling Noah Knew bus and billboard below with the nod to the 2008 Obama campaign and the period in the headline. What's most interesting is that this may be the first iRapture ever. The WeCanKnow people want to encourage the use of technology for witnessing on the 21st. You can download books for the Kindle, organize scriptures and audio commentaries on your iPod Touch and "use internet radio to play the Family Radio from anywhere". Meaning you can listen from heaven or hell? No, I'm afraid that would just be called hell. Sorry class—homework will still be due on the following week.

Misinformation Graphics

Ok, I don't mean to get all political, but this creepy infographic steps on the toes of free speech. It appeared recently on Sarah Palin's Facebook page and lists 20 Democrats who voted to approve the Health Care Reform Package, and who were elected in previously Republican districts. Their locations are identified on the map with crosshairs – a rather crass metaphor to take up arms to defeat these Democrats in the November elections. In recent days, a number of these targeted politicians have received death threats and even had bricks thrown in their office windows. After the health bill was signed on Tuesday, Sarah shouted a plea to her Palin posse on Twitter, "Dont retreat, RELOAD!". Palin's scare tactics and her inflammatory firearms rhetoric are a shout-out to her base to take aim at these politicians and target their election campaigns. I am all for dissent and free political speech, but I find this sort of discourse and infographic offensive and irresponsible. Sarah is not going rogue – she's going ballistic. And as designers, I think we all have a responsibility to be very careful about what messages and information we promote in the name of free speech. Our actions may come at a very high cost.

Not My Type

It's The Visual Enforcement Kit. Don't leave home without it.