302,9 KM² BUT LACK OF SPACE

“The lack of housing is not new, but a problem that has existed for decades. The fact that the problem has not improved in recent years, but has actually worsened, is no coincidence, but the result of bad political decisions”

This is a short excerpt from the statement by the General Student Committee (German: Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss, or short AStA) of the University of Münster as part of the “Wo(hn) Raum?” campaign. The title of the campaign was chosen by the students of the AStA and can be read in two different ways: On the one hand “Wohnraum”, which translates to housing, or on the other hand “Wo Raum?”, which translates to “Where room?”.

Wo(hn) Raum?
campaign design
comissioned project
04-24 

My aim in designing the logo was to create something that would appeal to people's emotions; after all, emotions create reactions, which is exactly what we wanted for this campaign. After many tries to achieve all of this, the idea of the snail with a tent was born. The snail also symbolises slow or sluggish progress in the housing crisis. The logo also refers to the German word for snail shell, which literally means "snail house".  Homeless due to a lack of houses, the snail camps out — a nod to the planned protest camp at Münster Castle. I'm still in love with this gorgeous little snail. Hopefully it will soon find a better shell or a better house...

insights

political statements

Obviously, the focus was less on the aesthetics of the design and more on the political significance and demands on those who have the influence to change something. Issues such as unreasonably high rents, the number of available places in relation to the number of waiting students, etc. were raised. For this cause, I designed a total of 5 banners with different problems and demands to the government for the campaign.

media report

And some good news for everyone that’s interested in learning more about the campaign and the problem it adresses: The German public media made a short report about the camp and the political motivation behind it. The event is highlighted, students are interviewed, and most importantly, attention is drawn to the problem. A nice side effect, which is definitely secondary, but still: My designs made it to TV! :)

The report about the campaign is between minute 01:10 and 08:06, unfortunately only in German though.