Keep Calm and Push Love (#PushLove)

This year’s election was one of the most controversial elections that the country has seen in decades. The severely different views of the two candidates challenged the constitutional values of equality, freedom, and acceptance in our country — uncovering ugly displays of hate, hostility, and prejudice. We want to remind people to Push Love.

Despite the hate generated over the past year and recent events,  a large glimmer of hope emerged through the activism of hundreds of thousands of Americans, who came together to protest their rights and push their beliefs of equality, acceptance, peace, and love. Just as we have seen time and time again in our history, out of hardships and tragedy, we find the rebirth and strengthening of the American spirit.

Political art, specifically in the form of posters, graffiti, and graphics, soon exploded across the country on billboards, TV, and social media platforms. Artist Shepard Fairey, who is best known for creating President Obamas ‘Hope‘ campaign posters, created a new print campaign ‘We The People‘ which serves as a symbol of equality for all genders, ages, and ethnicities.
In order to show our participation in standing by our beliefs of love, acceptance, and equality, we developed the #PushLove Campaign.
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Push Love in Philadelphia

Our Creative Director, Sabrina Pfautz, took to the streets of Philadelphia to join 50,000 men and women for the Women’s March on January 21st. (See pictures in below gallery)

Along with a couple Pfautz-original posters, our Push Love designs soared proudly in the sky. “Being a part of this pivotal moment in American and Women’s history was so meaningful to me. It was really empowering to see so many Americans take to the streets to peacefully protest for their own rights and the rights of others, despite differences in gender, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Our message to ‘Push Love’ could not have been a more appropriate fit.”

We even took it upon ourselves to get some local businesses to support the Push Love movement in Old City. In asking businesses to support our cause, I realized the true magic of the Push Love campaign. By sharing our campaign, I met new friends, created new relationships and got to know more about our Old City neighbors.

Design2Unite Gallery in Fishtown

As an homage to all of the beautiful artwork that has come out of the country’s recent spike in patriotism, AIGA Philadelphia held the first ever Design2Unite Gallery show at Bluecadet on Friday, February 3rd. Local Philadelphia artists submitted pieces that “celebrated love, inclusion, acceptance, and unity.” Since we felt each of our designs represented these values, we submitted all 4 pieces.

Push Love Online

The power of social media and it’s role in the news is one that has what more than 62% of American adults get their news on social media, according to a report published by the Pew Research Center and the Knight Foundation. In order to promote our campaign and encourage others to share and #pushlove, we took to the most popular social platforms: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The response we received back was incredible! People shared, tagged, and even printed out our Push Love designs on t-shirts and posters to use in Women’s Marches across the country. We found that social media marketing was for more than just business – but it was also an effective tool to promote, create connections, and push love.

The Future of Push Love

Although it was the election that ignited a spark of patriotism across our country, we never need a reason to stand up for equality. Our Push Love campaign is about pushing love all year around, beyond the times when we need it the most. Stay tuned for more Push Love campaign designs and join us on our quest to push love for all to see!

Want to see more from Design2Unite and our #PushLove campaign? Check out the pictures in the gallery below and visit our campaign page to get involved and #PushLove!

More #PushLove