Crayola Bright

We need art education in schools.

The Problem:

Art education in public schools includes dance, music, drama/theatre, and visual arts classes. It’s usually funded by the federal, state, and local governments, but an increasing number of schools are cutting art education from their curriculums.

Budget cuts: It’s estimated that since 2008, more than 80 percent of schools nationwide experienced cuts to their budgets. As a remedy, art programs were partially or completely eliminated from affected school districts.

Core curriculum/standardized testing: Government policies, such as the No Child Left Behind Act and the Common Core State Standards, place emphasis on core subjects such as math and reading, which have sidelined art education. As a result of these policies, schools began re-directing funds toward subjects that require standardized testing in order to increase the overall scores of their students.

Disparities in Accessing Art Education: Even though art programs were slashed nationwide, schools with higher concentrations of impoverished students or minority students suffered the most.

Why is art education important?

• Art classes improve the overall academic performance of students, even in the core subjects.

• Schools with long-standing art programs have higher graduation rates.

• Art education develops creativity and problem-solving skills, improves judgment, teaches multiple perspectives,
and encourages inventiveness.

• Visual arts classes help develop motor skills in young children.

• Art programs can keep at-risk youth off the streets, and consequently, away from correctional institutions

Source

Solution:

Crayola Bright

A Crayola initiative with local nonprofits across the country to help fund school art programs and create opportunities for children without access to the arts.

GIFs

To quickly reach an audience on social media, Crayola will post gifs that show how the progression of an artist from their childhood. This GIF shows the progression of a designer, but there will be an effort to include any career that art makes a difference in (architecture, product design, etc). GIFs were chosen because they're simple, don't need to be clicked on, have no audio, and loop repeatedly.

Crayola Bright will use gifs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but will also focus on the Tumblr community. Tumblr was originally a way for artists to share their work with others. Crayola Bright will ask users to share how art has made a difference in their lives using the hashtag #ArtTransforms.

Print ads:

Print will show how a child can grow from making doodles to fully-fledged works of art, both personal and commercial.

Live Exhibitions

When children create something they're proud of, it's important to celebrate it. Crayola Bright will give nonprofits funds to host exhibitions of children's art in galleries, giving children the recognition and support they deserve. Once a year, Crayola Bright will put on its own exhibition in NYC, featuring works from children from all over the country.

Why Crayola?

Crayola is a brand already invested in this space, so it makes sense to introduce a campaign that explores and furthers their investment. Crayola is also a household name with wide recognition, so an initiative by them would be sure to reach audiences. Children also usually start their artistic journeys by coloring with crayons, so Crayola is with them from the start.

Partnership with Nonprofits

Crayola will partner with local nonprofits throughout the United States. Crayola currently works with nonprofits in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but will expand its effort through Crayola Bright. Nonprofits such as Project Art in New York would receive funding and materials from Crayola to give back to their communities and help fund art programs for children without access.

Logo and Style

The logo retains the essence of Crayola through using its familiar rounded style, a crayon, and the colors of its iconic box, green and yellow. The lightbulb and script font are a different style from Crayola's usual, but they were chosen to show this initiative is something new and different from them.