For my advocacy campaign for my issue of solving the lack of personal protective equipment for healthcare officials in the COVID-19 outbreak, I have several ideas of how I should present my ideas. First, I was thinking of creating an infographic. Upon examining the different examples of infographics on the link, a few types caught my eye. The “how-to-guide” would be interesting to implement since there are a few sequential actions that would solve this crisis, so organizing it in a step-by-step manner would break it down to the essentials. Another type of infographic that could lend itself to my issue is the visualization of the statistics relating to this problem to accentuate the need for change while supplying numerical arguments. The “visual guide on an important issue” also seemed relevant since it would also break down the content into easily identifiable contributors to the problem and the steps to take to reduce the problem. The audience for this issue is mainly the United States government, but also the CEO’s of major manufacturing companies in the United States, so an infographic would be able to adequately communicate the main ideas in a media form that would apply to both groups.
I think that “Photographer as Witness: A Portrait of Abuse” is a piece of advocacy. I think that people are extremely influenced by images and yes, we all hear stories about domestic abuse, but sadly, does that change much? It is one thing to hear about something, versus actually seeing it in person, or within an image. I think that the images captured by this photographer demonstrate the issue in the most raw and basic way that is so powerful that it forces people to pay attention. Yes, it may be gruesome, but so is the issue. I am not quite sure on the ethical portion, as it is a touchy subject. But I think that if the photographer received approval from Maggie, the victim of the abuse, then it would be okay to share these photos to gain attention for the issue of domestic abuse.
Depending on how you want to advocate for this issue I think that the two types of infographics you discussed lend themselves differently. If you were to advocate for the increased production of PPE’s I would suggest the statistics approach, as I think this would provide a visually appealing array of compelling information. If you were to discuss alternatives to traditional PPE I would utilize the “How To” guide.
I agree that the raw intensity of the images provides a greater sense of shock to readers than simply hearing a story of abuse verbally, but I wonder if a similar effect could be achieved through a visual recreation of an event of domestic abuse.
If your audience is the CEO’s of companies or the government, I think that an info graphic may not be the best form to present your information. Maybe a speech or something would be more persuasive in presenting the need for more personal protection equipment. I do like the idea of a how to/ step by step guide if it was for the general public. That would be a great idea. Good luck!
I agree with the points made by my peers above. An infographic would be very suitable to the general public to help convey a natural progression of steps to take. It may have the same effect for upper level executives, but perhaps at a lesser extent. I like what you said about the Portrait of Abuse regarding advocacy and ethics. The images hold a lot of power to convey the reality of domestic abuse and prevent it from spreading further.
I really like both of your ideas for your advocacy project! While I do in part agree with what Sylvia wrote about the persuasiveness of speeches — if you were only sending the project to government representatives, for example, I think a speech would best catch their attention — I believe that infographics can be spread on a mass-scale and inspire the general public to hold those government officials and CEOs accountable. I agree with what you said about photos. It may be cliche, but a picture really is worth a thousand words.