Education
Introducing #NotYourCliche: Images Representing Real People With Real Stories
By Jenna Black - 4 min read
This is not a campaign. This is a movement for permanent change in visual representation.
When I was 13 years old, I’d wait anxiously for my monthly issue of YM Magazine, an American magazine for teenage girls (which has since stopped printing in 2004). I was obsessed with the women in there, the images of beauty, and plenty of teenage girls who looked far older than me in their layers of makeup, developed chests and perfect outfits.
This was the first time I experienced the power and influence of imagery. I wanted to be these happy perfectly shaped girls in YM Magazine. I went on my first diet at 13, because of images.
Since those days in my Northern Utah bedroom, so many brands, companies and even governments have made strides to end the constant sea of perfectly thin, photoshopped people in images, and I applaud that. But this is 2018. This goes so much further than limiting photoshop on models and showing real body types. Where is the true visual representation for people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, masculinity, disabilities, mental health? It’s 2018 and we still represent mental health with Word Art or a seemingly sad person looking out a window.
In comes the Not Your Cliche image collection. These are real people, issues, and moments and they’re what connect with audiences. This was created with the diversity of humankind in mind and 18 months of intelligence from listening to advertising and marketing needs and trends.
We’re thrilled to finally share this collection and hope you feel a connection to these images or the photographers behind them.
This is not a campaign. This is visual representation as a result of the world we live in. Let’s look back at 2018 and remember it as the year visual representation changed for good, not for a season.
See the NotYourCliche Collection video here.
Want to see more from the NotYourCliche Collection? Explore the full collection here!