The Facts About Bullying

Research

Bullying is a social problem that occurs everywhere and in every form, effecting millions of children every day. It can be presented in different ways, such as physically, mentally, indirectly, and through technology (cyber bullying).  Stopbullying.gov defines bullying as "[...] unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.".

According to makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org, 

Physical bullying includes:

• Hitting
• Kicking
• Pinching
• Punching
• Scratching
• Spitting

or any other form of physical attack, including taking or damaging someone else's belongings.

Verbal bullying includes:

• Name calling
• Insulting
• Making racist, sexist, or homophobic jokes
• Remarks or teasing
• Use of sexual or abusive language
• Offensive remarks

Indirect bullying includes:

• Spreading false and/or offensive stories about someone
• Exclusion from social groups
• Being made the subject of malicious rumors

There are 7 types of cyber bullying which includes:

• Text message bullying
• Picture / video clip bullying via mobile phone cameras
• Phone call bullying via mobile phones
• E-mail bullying
• Chat-room bullying
• Bullying through instant messaging (IM)
• Bullying via websites

 or any other type of bullying that is  carried out by an electronic medium.

Bullying is commonly seen in schools among children but occurs everywhere with people of all ages. According to pacer.org, 64% of children who were bullied didn't report it, and only 36% reported the bullying. The reasons for being bullied reported were because of:

• Looks (55%)
• Body shape (37%)
• Race (16%)

Center for Disease Control stated that "Students who experience bullying are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, and poor school adjustment." and "Students who bully others are at increased risk for substance use, academic problems, and violence, later adolescence and adulthood.". Also, 1 out of 10 students drop out of school as a result of constant bullying. (dosomething.org)

Students with disabilities are two to three times more likely to be bullied than non-disabled students.  (pacer.org)

81.9% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students were bullied last year, resulting in 63.5% of them feeling unsafe because of their sexual orientation and 43.9% because of their gender expression. (pacer.org)
Suicide as a result of bullying has increased by more than 50% over the last 30 years in children aged 10-14 years. In 2005, 270 children in this age group alone, killed themselves.
Why do students become bullies? Students may learn to bully by observing parents or siblings at home. Children who receive negative messages or physical punishment at home tend to have negative expectations or self concepts and reflect that onto others. Students who have friends or are apart of groups who participate in bullying may want to show off at school and are reinforced when no or inconsistent consequences come of it, and they will continue to bully others. (nasponline.org)
"Bullying statistics say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings [...] Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents." according to makebeasnotbeatdowns.org.

Only half of educators have been trained on how to handle bullying situations. According to a study conducted by National School Board Administration, 33.1% of middle school and high school student agree that teachers can stop bullying. That means, 2/3 of students believe that they cannot go to their teachers for help. (kidpower.org)
Four ways of how to stop bullying include:

• Increase bullying awareness
• Respond forcefully and respectfully (Early intervention)
• Teach children protective skills
• Become involved (Parent and teacher training)

Bullying could be prevented if people stop and think before they communicate with others to avoid hurting someone.

I am against bullying because it is not something that could result in a positive way. It harms self esteem and could threaten the safety of others. There is also no excuse for the act of bullying, due to everybody in the nation having equal rights and a no discrimination policy. Bullying has negative effect on both the bully and bullied, and is destructive to their health (whether emotional or physical), in people of all ages.
Sources
Pacer
Make Beats Not Beat Downs
Do Something
Kid Power
Stop Bullying-What Can You Do?
Stop Bullying-What Is Bullying?
Nasp Online

Design

10 adjectives that would describe bullying:

1. Destructive
2. Cruel
3. Vindictive
4. Ruthless
5. Selfish
6. Scarring
7. Aggressive
8. Hateful
9. Ignorant
10. Rude

Images that may pertain to bullying would be of children who may look sad or helpless for a sadder effect on bullying, or of children of different races, gender, and body shape standing together for a more positive anti-bullying (encouragement) poster. "Word bubbles", like what you would see in comics, with quotes could also be used.

Sans-serif fonts should be used because bullying is not a playful matter. It should be treated seriously through bland fonts UNLESS quoting a child, which I would then use a non-cursive script font to emphasize the words coming from the child. I feel it would leave a bigger impact.

Due to it's concerning, serious theme; colors used should be calmer colors, except with the use of red. Red is the kind of color that will stand out and express urgency. So, I would use lighter shades of color and possibly a deep to normal red (no shocking / bright ) shade. Using these colors would make the poster easier to look at with the most important information standing out. It won't become overwhelming for the viewer to look at it.

Design: The Best and Worst Posters

Beautiful Design, Beautiful Poster.

First, let's look at the spacing. The top is centered while the bottom is balanced. The type isn't consuming all of the white space on this poster, which allows breathing room.

There are only two fonts used (excluding the name of the restaurant), which makes this poster visually flow and it makes the poster appealing. The cursive sends an elegant vibe to the viewer while the plain font gives an opposing simplicity feel. The fonts complement each other.

The colors aren't overused and go well together. The green from the olive and red from the flame are complementary to each other. Using the red throughout, as a small menu bar, as a font color, and coloring the social media icons, makes the information stand out without overpowering the other words.

The social media, contact information, and address are clearly presented at the bottom, making it easily accessible.

Subtle things also give some flare. The light line that runs through "-Grand Opening July 13th-" and the white lines that separate "New Ownership", "New Excitement", and "Same Tradition" adds some visual appeal. 

From top to bottom this poster flows. It has all of the necessary information without any "extras" and nothing is crammed or mushed together. Overall, this is well designed. 

This poster is very cute and designed very well!

The purple and green give a playful, fun feel to this poster and is carried throughout the entire page. The purple is not only seen in the main event title and at the bottom as a background, but tints the train in the photo above! The green is seen not only as background at the top, but in the mummy. The yellow type stands out nicely without conflicting with the purple background and subtly highlights beneath the words "Halloween Train" and appears again in the windows of the castle. The color consistency in the poster is great!
The information is nicely spaced out. The use of lines and color separation gives a more organized presentation of information.

The black solid bottom for the sponsors looks clean and well presented.

Various font sizes presents the information nicely, giving the main information (large size) the main attention of the viewer, and the details (smaller font) for if the viewer chooses to read more into the event.

Other small details such as the white highlight around "Halloween Train" and around the photo itself is a cleaner, more prominent way to highlight to catch the viewers attention.   

Sometimes, there really is beauty in simplicity.

The use of only two fonts is always a plus! The fonts are clear to read and with one being a serif and the other being a sans-serif, we see a little contrast but they look well together. The size of the fonts are nice because the title of the event isn't too big where it fights for attention with the image. The title sits comfortably below the image, with the details of the event below the title in a smaller, yet good sized font.

Image wise, the stars aren't over used and doesn't cause a distraction, but more as a cutesy detail (as it should!). It touches upon outer space and what the winter solstice really is. There's also balance on each side of the vertical line that sits between the groups of stars (four on the left, four on the right). The circle, which can either symbolize an ornament or a globe, being centered, is the first thing to catch the viewers eye. It's what first draws the viewer in.

Layout wise, the information is well organized and easy to find. The fact that the details aren't centered and sit to the right of the page balances out the icon/logo of the company that sits to the bottom left.

Little things, like how the border looks like it's dangling the ball, is visually appealing. It all flows together. Even if the viewer's eyes don't follow that long line of light blue (or purple), it is seen again inside the ball. Not to mention that the line at the bottom is only slightly to the right of where the side of the larger line would be if it continued to the bottom. In a way, the top line is almost a guide line to lead the viewer's eyes down to the information and the "information line".

This is a well presented, simple poster.

Terrible, Terrible, Terrible.

                                                          Oh deer.What is going on here?

It's hard to know what the message of this poster is. Because there's a date and a location, it's safe to assume that it's an event? But where can the viewer find more information when there isn't a phone number, email address, or social media link?

Also, the picture itself shows it's a cross breed between a unicorn and a deer? Is it their logo? Their icon?

Looking past all of that, the colors are the best part of this poster, each harmonizing with each other beautifully. The consistency of the color throughout is what makes this poster appealing, and using a unique border with these colors complement the inner content. Even the placement of the information is decent because the horns guide the viewer's eyes right to it. It's also aligned with the face of the animal, making this balanced from left to right.

But this is still a bad poster just because of the information it lacks. There could be many reasons why a music center would create a poster; a promotion, new location, a sale, etc. It leaves the viewer with too many questions as to why it exists at all.

                                                    
                                                                        Where to begin?

TOO. MANY. FONTS.  There are five different fonts used on this poster. One is the logo of the company, and two are possibly sponsors? But it's a little font crazy and quite frankly, really font heavy as well.

The colors don't sit well with each other. It's stressful for the eyes to jump from a dark purple type to a lime green and then to the rest of the colors. There's also no color theme here, it's almost as if the designer opened the color palate, closed their eyes, clicked on a random spot, and used that color on their text.

Layout wise, putting two images (even if one is the icon/logo), on the left side of the page really makes the left side of the page heavier than the right.

There's also a lot of information put on this poster, making it overwhelming.

The content is also repetitive. If it's an amateur/rookie competition, it's not necessary to have "NO PROS!". Also, there's no need to say that there's two 9 ball events when the schedule is listed.

Also, the font in the upper right hand corner doesn't work with that small font size.

Did I miss anything?

                                                       


Before there's mention of the type, the green flame is too much at the bottom. The designer, trying to match the flames in the "F"s at the top, uses too much of it and it's a distraction.

The sponsors should be listed at the bottom. Putting them in the middle of the page distracts from the main information.

There are a lot of web addresses listed at the bottom. Better separation and organization of where to buy the tickets and event information will clearly present the information in a less overwhelming way.

As for the top, from "A.K Promotions" to "KICKBOXING", the font size and the way it sits looks good. Although, the date and location should be separated from the title.

Why is there a blue tint on the kickboxing men? Using the normal colored photo would be better. The blue tint is kind of random.

Having a black background is tricky, making your eyes more sensitive to the brightness of color. So, this poster would be better if it had a white or a tinted background as opposed to the solid black. The white font would then be back and the colors wouldn't be so "in your face".

The fonts are all bold. Getting rid of the heaviness of all the type would also make the poster less dense.

Overall this is a heavy poster that seems to have all the content, but struggles with the organization of it and presentation of it.