The piece “Where to Go” is a poster art that aims to promote peace and unity in the Balkan Peninsula region, specifically Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this passage, I am going to briefly explain the central idea of the piece and dive deeper into particular factors that I focused on when creating this piece, and how the specific elements affected the purpose and intentions of “Where to Go”. 

Before discussing the ideas and concept of the poster, I believe it is essential to explain the social context of the piece. The main target audience and subject of this piece is the society of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The nation has experienced several tragic war periods within the last century. Till this day, the physical and mental damage caused by the war history of BiH is still engraved in every corner of its society. Though the exact reasons of wars are never manifested clearly, the main cause of BiH’s dreadful war history is still generally considered to be the ethnic tensions, in the Balkans region, revolving around three major ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. The conflict remains, and even strengthens today because of the significant consequences of the wars. 

After understanding the major social conflict in this region, the intended message is already beginning to unravel itself. Personally, I believe that the key to promoting peace in this region is not located in the attempt to resolve the conflict instantly. Instead, it is crucial to emphasize that peace is an eternal answer to miserable histories, even if it takes time to realize. With that being taken into consideration, it is, again, important to emphasize the significance of transmitting accessible, integrated information to youth generations through education, so that they will have the opportunity to eventually step into future peace ages. To conclude, the main idea of “Where to Go” is to inform the public that the future generation should be given the right of moving the whole society forward, and that it is this movement that will gradually lead this society to a brighter tomorrow. 

Subsequently, I will break down the choice and use of particular elements in “Where to Go”. To start with, I would like to explain the selection of motifs in the poster. Initially, the inclusion of numerous symbols in the canvas may cause confusion when understanding their individual connotation. However, the represented ideas behind each object are all connected and all contribute to the transmission of the central idea. 

First of all, I included a noticeable tram car and filled the majority of the canvas with this object; it also acts as a “frame” for the more detailed content represented on the poster. The tram network in Sarajevo is a notable symbol of the country BiH—the nation takes pride in the well-designed and well-known transit system. Having the function of the frame, the tram becomes the carrier of the other motifs in the picture—just as BiH is the carrier of its own history, present and future. At the front of the car, the light extends toward the edge of the canvas, suggesting that the light of hope exists as a result of the contemplation and that the bright future is ahead. 

Moving on to the details contained in the tram-frame, the connected images are symbolizing the transition of thoughts. 

The first two images—icar canned beef and a cassette—are classic representations of war legacy, or the past. The canned beef was the low-quality, limited, but major food source provided to victims of the Sarajevo siege; the cassettes, on the other hand, was a symbol of restricted communication and separation of families, friends, etc.; both objects are continuously reminding people of the wartime torment. 

The following two images, which are a typewriter and the internals of an architecture, are depicting my idealized view of the present. The typewriter is an illustration of history being recorded down through more perspective instead of being the result of cherry-picking and utilization of logical fallacy to control societies. This comprehensive record of the past provides the basis of understanding and reconciliation. The interior of the building is an image from a report of the reconstruction of BiH’s national library. Library is again emphasizing the existence of accessible information and education; also, the reconstruction process showcases the transition of blocking people from truth to opening it up for everyone to inspect. 

The last two images are representing a predicted and idealized future. The photo of children reading books denotes that information is being introduced to younger generations and is being accepted by them. The final picture of doves flying presents a potent meaning of peace and relief. 

Lastly, the two children walking alongside the film roll are again symbols of the future

generation—they are learning and digesting the pathway that the nation had walked all along. The tiny lamp being held in a child’s hand is another motif related to wartime. The IV tube used to be filled with gas and used as a lamp. The dim light that it gives also forms contrast with the vivid, bright light of the tram light—symbolizing the future hope’s complete dominance over the entrapment of the past. 

With the selection of motifs explained, I will now elaborate on my color choices. One of the main color choices made within “Where to Go” is the flag-themed color. The color of the tram is blue and yellow, the flag color of BiH, functioning in accordance with its symbolic meaning. Similarly, the two children also have flag-related colors—the boy is in blue-yellow (BiH/Bosniaks), while the girl is in red-blue (Croatia and Serbia-Croats and Serbs). Additionally, the text color is also written with nation-related colors, corresponding to the color of the two children, indicating a conversation. Other than the flag colors, I also utilized different color temperatures. The dim light with the IV tube lamp is in a cooler color, while the brighter light of the tram is in warmer color, implying the tendency toward the latter. 

Finally, I will elucidate the use of text within “Where to Go”. To begin, the texts are located in the top left corner and the bottom right corner, which are the two optical areas. As our eyes have the natural tendency of moving from top left, to top right, then bottom left, and eventually bottom right, the texts located in the two optical areas automatically become more noticeable. Moreover, the question and answer dialogue of the two sentences forms a dialectic. This dialectic collaborates with the image/visual representation, confirming and strengthening the message. For example, the conversation is clearly revolving around moving and directions, therefore the image is also highlighting the movement—no matter with the moving children, or the moving tram car. The second sentence emphasizes “light”. Light is a word symbol with double meaning. People are usually aware of the undertone, relating light with hope. However, it should also be considered that most people in Sarajevo did spend their days in the dark because of the lack of electricity. The word “light” is also aligned with the visual illustration of light, making the message more straightforward. Further on, the two texts each have one word that is highlighted with a different color. The highlighting not only assists the audience in finding the stressed word, but the same color blue also combines the two words, “we” and “light”, once again pointing out that to reach the “light”, it will not only be “me”, or “you”, or “they”, it is “we” who have to make action. 

To conclude, in the poster “Where to Go”, I attempted to promote post-conflict peace and unity in BiH with visual representations, specifically focusing on the intentions behind symbols, colors and text, stressing on the importance of offering opportunities to the younger generation, and the cruciality of moving forward instead of remaining in the same position or even looking backwards.