Subway Advertisement: PSA

The simple but clear design of this subway poster is perfectly suited to its purpose as a public service announcement/safety campaign. Obviously designed to complement the specific location where it would be used, the central figure in orange picks up on the colors of the actual benches below; the silvery-grey figures placed symmetrically around him blend with the actual train's mirrored walls so that we seem to be looking at an extension of the setting in which we are literally positioned. As befits a public advisory, the main message is big and bold in text just above its graphic illustration, politely but stringently admonishing us not to hold the subway doors, while the text below applies peer pressure to discourage the practice: "You delay the train and everyone on it." Due to its contrast with the rest of the ad as well as its centrality to the composition, we are compelled to look at the bright orange figure on the subway wall, and from that first glance we take in the campaign's message.