Discourse Analysis

Discourse analysis of McBess' tfl poster

In 2013 French illustrator McBess did a series of posters for tfl showing irritation traits of people who take public transport and don't follow the unwritten London commuter code. Tfl wanted these posters to encourage the public to become more aware of others around them and so change their behaviour for the best. You can see these posters around London, in the tube/train/bus stations.

MCBESS' work has it's own unique style of characterisation which I think works well, as it makes you want to look at the poster instead of blending into the rest of the bland helvetica adverts about cold tablets.

The poster itself is very simple which I think also works well. This is because you need to have something that you can take in quickly, as commuters don't have time to stop and read a poster. McBess does this by using monochrome so the audience just focuses on the image itself rather than all the colours getting in the way. Also the image itself is very self explanatory, of a guy in his 20s needing to throw up and a stranger helping him. This is a classic case of simplicity being the key to success. 

The image is aimed more to the younger generation, as the guy that needs to throw up looks somewhere in his 20s. It is also thought by the majority that youths cause the most disruption on public transport, so the poster had to be 'teenager friendly' - no helvetica here. 

The image is also accompanied by a short piece of poetry about how you should help someone if you see that they're feeling sick. This was added due to the current thriving poetry community and to celebrate National Poetry Day, as well as adding an element of excitement and fun to the piece. I also think that by using a poem instead of just plain text with an instruction makes it more playful, in turn making it more rememberable and more enjoyable to read.