Workers Rise Up! A May Day Special

Overview 

Workers Rise Up! was a one-hour live special produced by The Young Turks to commemorate May Day and explore the history and future of the labor movement. I volunteered to design the project because of my interest in workers' rights and the opportunity to create a visual identity unlike the network's regular programming. 

Working independently, I designed the complete broadcast graphics package, promotional campaign, and streaming assets used across the network. 

Final title slate used throughout the broadcast

The Challenge 

The creative brief called for visuals that felt bold, revolutionary, and rooted in labor movement history while remaining clean and readable for a live broadcast. 

The visual identity drew inspiration from historical labor movement posters, combining bold typography, muted reds, roses, and raised fists into a cohesive broadcast package.

The Solution

I researched historical May Day imagery, protest posters, and labor movement iconography before developing a visual system built around muted reds, vintage-inspired typography, raised fists, and roses. Once the title slate was approved, I expanded the design into a complete graphics package, including broadcast templates, promotional graphics, social media assets, and streaming platform artwork. 

The project required balancing expressive visual storytelling with the technical requirements of live television, ensuring every template worked consistently across dozens of graphics produced for the special. 

After approval of the title slate, the design expanded into a complete set of broadcast templates used throughout the live special

The visual system extended beyond the broadcast to support marketing across social media, the TYT website, and streaming platforms including Roku, Samsung, and Xumo

Reflection 

This project reminded me that research can be an important part of the design process. Understanding the visual language of historical labor movements helped me create something that felt authentic while still functioning within a modern broadcast environment. 

Although I'd refine some of the typography if I redesigned it today, I'm proud of creating an entire graphics package from concept through production and translating a broad creative brief into a cohesive visual identity. 

Final broadcast demonstrating the completed graphics package in production.

“The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too.”

-Rose Schneiderman