The winning designs in two different color ways, created digitally.
The Freedom To Read Teen Ambassador program is an internship program offering teens (ages 16–19) a space to advocate for intellectual freedom, fight censorship and book bans, and much more.
It is related to Brooklyn Public Library’s larger Books Unbanned initiative, which was inspired by the American Library Association's Freedom to Read Statement. Books Unbanned is a response to an increasingly coordinated and effective effort to remove books from library shelves. It was created in 2022 as a response to this censorship, answering ‘what can we do real time to ensure access to those living in restricted areas of the U.S.?’. They’ve made the ENTIRE BPL digital online collection available for free to teens and young adults (ages 13-21) across the whole country (!!!) with the Books Unbanned eCard. They are actively partnering with other libraries and adding their collections as well, so the breadth of materials is growing (currently includes: Boston Public Library, LA County Library, San Diego Public Library, Seattle Public Library).
Librarian, Emma, found my Book Ban Response print series online and reached out earlier this year. She works directly with the teens in the ambassador program and had the idea of some sort of artist collab.
I made LOADS of working designs before we landed on the winners. Teen ambassadors gave their feedback and preference in the conceptual design process and in selecting the final versions.
Here is a small selection of alternate working designs and color ways:
