Boy Bastiaens & Albert Kiefer

amnesty international promotional trailer

Trailer made for the opening of the Free-Minds-For-Amnesty symposium in Amsterdam june 2001, on the occassion of the 40th anniversary of Amnesty International. Presenting a pictographic representation of a human. Which could be female or male of any race, ethnic background, religious conviction or sexual inclination.

A conscious choice was made to display the character in its most vulnerable and disarming posture. Arms spread leaving the body totally unprotected. The figure itself is basically invisible symbolizing the anonymous prison, and is literally made visible by 'information'. With writing being the activity of Amnesty International, prisoners are brought under the attention of the world and 'made visible' again. The typewriter font used on the figure refers to individual initiatives to get prisoners released by the activity of writing letters.

The 40th anniversary Icon was selected to contribute in the Spanish publication For A Good Cause by Index Books, 2010. The book is a collection of the best socially conscious design and the projects featured were created to show that it is indeed possible to make a better, more beautiful world. And in 2012 in How to Use Type by Linsey Marshall & Lester Meachem, the book was publshed by Laurence King Publishers in the United Kingdom.