Concept Map: How Did We Get Here?

Information design, 24 x 36 in poster

This information design poster tells the story of the opioid epidemic, with a specific focus on the Sackler family’s involvement. After thorough research, I chose to use a timeline to tie together two distinct narratives — The Sackler family / Purdue Pharma and the victims affected by the opioid epidemic. In the top section, the poster provides specific details about the aggressive and deceitful marketing practices of the Sackler Family. In the bottom section, there are harrowing facts about what their actions led to.

After sorting through the information gathered, I developed specific design systems based on color, typography, and space. For the color system, red and blue were used for the Sackler narrative, while yellow was reserved for information related to the victims. For the typography system, italicized type was used for additional facts, red type was used for excerpts from actual emails or medication labels, and scale was used to create hierarchy.

I limited the poster to text, photography and simple shapes in an effort to keep the focus of the poster on the shocking facts of the story. I included photos of real overdose victims to highlight the disturbing and undeniable impact that the Sackler family’s actions have had.