O.U.R Design for a Tim Ballard & Mike Tomlin Collaboration

Back in July of 2017 I had the opportunity to design a poster and T-shirt graphics for an O.U.R (Operation Underground Railroad) collaboration between its founder Tim Ballard & Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. O.U.R is an organization that rescues children from human trafficking.

Coach Tomlin wanted to unite his team under a cause to raise awareness about how the NFL Super Bowl is one of the largest child trafficking events of the year. When I asked what they wanted the mood of the poster to be I was told to make it feel like Braveheart. 

The T-shirt features "Stealers" and the poster features the title “Slave Stealers,” a derogatory term used by Southern slaveholders in the 1830s–1850s to describe those who helped enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad. The “SS” brand was burned onto some people who who were caught in aiding in their escape.

Pittsburgh Steelers players signed their names to multiple copies of this poster in support of the cause.

Late in 2016 I heard Tim Ballard speak of child exploitation and trafficking and it rocked me to my core. He told a story about a man whose 2 year old son was kidnapped and trafficked.

Tim was unable to find the boy but his search did lead him to a 'child care' facility that was trafficking children and led to many children being rescued. At the time my son was 2 years old and I felt something grab my heart and I wanted to help.  

Creating a design for a cause that was personally meaningful for me and then to be tasked to channel inspiration from my favorite movie makes this one of my favorite projects I've worked on.

"Every man dies, not every man really lives." ― Braveheart (1995)

Learn more about O.U.R here https://ourrescue.org/about