Rescue posters address homelessness and cold-related deaths in Germany. They are printed onto DIN-standardised silver and gold rescue blankets (210 × 160 cm). In an adbusting campaign, diptychs (one silver, one gold) were hung over advertising billboards. The posters can be taken down to be used as emergency blankets.
Project Summary
Project Information
Our rescue posters were created for the civil collective »Rettungsplakate« (Rescue Posters). The collective uses them to raise awareness of the consequences of the antisocial housing policies in Germany: 50,000 people live on Germany’s streets, six of whom froze to death last winter.
The posters are produced using a UV direct printing process on DIN-standardised emergency blankets (160 × 210 cm). These blankets are made from a thin polyester film coated with aluminium, which reflects body heat and provides insulation in emergency situations.
Rescue blankets have a silver and gold surface which reflect light – making the urban environment, including the viewer, part of the poster motif. To counterbalance the blanket’s reflective and visually dynamic surface, the typography is kept deliberately minimalistic.
In an adbusting campaign, the posters were hung as diptychs (one silver + one gold) over public billboards in Germany without permission, raising the question of who owns public space. The posters can be detached from the wall and used as blankets by passers-by.
The posters mention the collective’s website, rettungsplakate.de, which provides further statistics and political demands, as well as ideas on how to actively support homeless people. A fundraising campaign was initiated that raises money for NGOs that assist people experiencing homelessness.
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Text on the posters:
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Silver poster
● Headline: 50,000 people live on the streets.
● Body: In 2023, approximately 50,000 people were living on the streets in Germany.
● Source: Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V.
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Golden poster
● Headline: 6 people died on the streets in 2024.
● Body: In winter 2023/24, at least six homeless people died on the streets of Germany.
● Source: Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V.
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Both posters
● Big subline: Give warmth now.
● Domain: rettungsplakate.de
● Very small text: You may tear this poster from the wall and use it as a blanket.
Credits
Linus Knappe, Concept, Design, Adbusting
Vivian Hötter, Design, Adbusting
Liam Kaufmann, Adbusting
Kai Baedorf, Adbusting
Markus Hanker, Adbusting
Dennis Golly– Printer of University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf (HSD PBSA)
Jens Philipp – Printer of University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf (HSD PBSA)
Master Studio Experimental Design at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf (HSD / PBSA), with Prof. Mone Schliephack and Prof. Martin Pfeifle