Poster, 'We Love CHCH + JPN'

This poster was created by a young Wellington designer, Chantelle Cole, in response to the devastating 6.3 earthquake that struck Canterbury at 12:51 pm on 22 February 2011. The earthquake caused severe damage and resulted in the loss of 185 lives.

Chantelle had just graduated from Massey University and had started working in a printing shop the week before. She wanted to show support for Christchurch, and felt that a physical manifestation of support such as a poster was a lot more powerful than a web-based version. So with her workplace's support, she quickly designed the poster the day after the earthquake, and offered nearly 800 to shop owners to put in their windows in central Wellington, particularly along Cuba Mall and Cuba and Willis streets. The poster was a great success and attracted attention from local radio stations, to downloads of the digital version in Australia.

Through the heart symbol, the handmade-looking font (actually called 'Positiv A'), and the 'We',the poster showed collective support and affection for Christchurch. The heart became one of the most abiding symbols of fundraising and spirit-raising initiatives around the country. Chantelle wanted to show that 'we were unified about Christchurch - that we didn't forget about them'.

The poster also let people know where they could donate funds (namely the Red Cross and Salvation Army). The Salvation Army reported a huge response as a result of the poster.

This poster is particularly interesting because it includes 'JPN' in handwriting in the same font style. This was added by a shop assistant in Cuba Mall to represent Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit on 11 March 2011, only 17 days after the Canterbury earthquake.