New Planet Blue Ads Use Art to Enhance Campus Sustainability 

As we go about our days on campus, we’re used to being surrounded by ads for everything from housing options to political campaigns. But next time you’re riding any of the campus buses, you might notice a brand new set of exciting ads enticing the community to get more involved in sustainability. 

Graham Multimedia Designer Fatimah Bolhassan drew inspiration from renowned 20th century artists to create posters encouraging increased engagement with the Planet Blue Ambassador (PBA) program. The ads encourage centering sustainability in everyday life through familiar yet eye-catching design styles. Fatimah’s work highlights the universal, interdisciplinary nature of sustainability efforts on campus, encompassing the intersection of art history, advertising, and environmental activism. 

These are the artists and movements that inspired this set of posters:

Emilio Pucci (1914-1992), Italian fashion designer famous for geometric, kaleidoscopic prints

Green and blue graphic eye shape that is reminiscent of a leaf asking "what if we all took a sustainability course?"

Bauhaus, midcentury movement based on the doctrine of functionalism

Horizontally arranged circles in high contrast colors with climate change themed icons inside asking "what if we all joined the climate conversation?"

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Dutch painter and pioneer of abstract art

Rectangles both in bright colors and white with black borders asking "what if we put solar panels on every building?"

Andy Warhol (1928-1987), visual artist and leading figure in the Pop Art movement

Tote bags arranged in a grid and displayed in contrasting but simple two tones asking "What if we always remembered our reusable shopping bags?"

Joan Miro (1893-1983), Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramist associated with Surrealism

A colorful, surrealist landscape asking "What if we held all classes outside?"

Digital Art, late 20th-century movement that is evolving with the widespread use of AI

8-bit, pixilated goats surround the question "What if we used goats on the Diag instead of lawnmowers?"

The PBA program is an entry point for any community member interested in sustainability, training and inspiring ambassadors to become sustainability champions on campus. From simple actions like using reusable shopping bags to long-term goals like campus-wide renewable energy, the Planet Blue Ambassador program shares big and small ideas to foster sustainability across all three U-M campuses. To become a Planet Blue Ambassador, visit https://pba.umich.edu/training/.

2 thoughts on “New Planet Blue Ads Use Art to Enhance Campus Sustainability ”

  2. Love this beautiful collaboration. Wonderful idea for partnership, and the advertisement rooted in art makes the messages that much more appealing.

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