Propaganda is a systematic form of persuasion intended to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of a target audience. The goal of this project was to select an audience, understand their beliefs, create a message that would resonate with their own, and use it to indoctrinate them. The piece of propaganda created had to be attached to a package that would help deliver a very convincing and cohesive message.

A review of WWII posters kicked off the research for this project. Examples of pieces from both parties involved were examined. It was important to get a better understanding of the methods and messages that each of the sides used to convince people to join their cause.  The results gathered included the following elements: bold, concise messages, saturated colors, playing with fear, appealing to emotion, and strong imagery.   

Inspiration was gathered from two different religious groups: Conservative Evangelicals and Islamic State followers. As different as those two groups may look, the ultimate purpose was to find similarities between both of them, to build bridges between their ideologies, and find common denominators. The ultimate goal was to use those connections to create a piece of propaganda that would persuade the Evangelicals and that would indoctrinate them into Islamic extremism. 

After concluding the sketching process, inspiration for the package was drawn from the Kaaba, the building at the center of Islam’s most sacred mosque.  While each side of the package would carry a different message, all of them were intended to resonate with the ideology of both religious groups. Explicit and subtle messaging types were explored, along with iconography.

Each side of the lid is designed to represent a different value that Conservative Evangelists stand behind: Gun rights, homophobia, xenophobia, and anti-abortion—values that are also supported by the Islamic Extremists. The messages hidden in the inner part of the walls correspond to the Islamic State ideology: Allah is the best of all judges and violence is the path to paradise, among others. The idea is to make people understand that extremist religious groups have a lot more in common than they realize.