Jordan Pagel

There are more slaves in the world today than ever before. Women all over the United States are held hostage in hotel rooms, in brothels, and tied up in chains, all while being forced to perform sexual acts. Human trafficking is the practice of illegally transporting slaves for the purpose of forced labor and/or sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is both a national and international issue. In 2018, each state reported at least eleven cases of trafficking incidents. This statistic does not account for the thousands of unreported cases, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. IndyStar stated that Indiana is a hub for sex trafficking. This is partially due to the accessibility of interstate travel, which offers the fastest route from Chicago to Atlanta. Last year and early in 2020, women reported being followed at various locations in the area including Southlake Mall in Merrillville, and the Valparaiso Meijer and Target. The main demographic for victims of human trafficking are females who are between the ages of 14-20 years old. As a university community, Valparaiso has the potential to be a target for sex trafficking. The Perfect Breed aims to inform the community of this social issue and to help protect others from falling into the hands of the sex trafficking industry.

The Perfect Breed is designed to feel like a cross between a mainstream fashion magazine and a cattle breeders catalog. These catalogs are a way that livestock owners can showcase their animals. They do this in order to sell them to the meat industry. By creating a magazine that emulates this format, it mimics the dehumanizing effects of sex trafficking when humans are compared to animals. I am approaching this project from the viewpoint of a graphic designer working for a client. This client runs a modeling agency as a cover for sex trafficking. The main role of a graphic designer is to create visual concepts to communicate ideas to inform or captivate an audience. Throughout this project I visually manipulated the magazine to at first appear normalized as one looks through the magazine, you may discover the darker undertones. I created coupons and a magazine since those are both familiar objects. This showcases that the sex trafficking industry is hidden in plain site. My intention is for the viewer to experience shock value when they come to the conclusion that this is not your average modeling catalog. It is much deeper than that. I am using my skills as a designer to be an advocate for the women who have fallen through the cracks and spread awareness of the severity of sex trafficking. I want to create a lasting emotional impact on my viewers to ensure that this topic is not forgotten.

I am greatly influenced by artists that take on social issues in an attempt to raise awareness by getting the public involved. For example, Molly Gochman’s participatory artwork titled the Red Sand Project dives into the issue of human trafficking. Gochman pours red sand into sidewalk cracks to symbolize people slipping through the cracks of society in the sex trafficking industry. She invites others to join the movement by giving out free sand kits. More than one million participants from all 50 states and 70 countries got involved. Throughout my project, my goal was to create work that inspired others to spread awareness. On the last page of my magazine I included a red X. This is the symbol for human trafficking awareness. I invite those that view my work to draw the X on their hand and share what they have learned with others. 

Overall, this project aims to benefit the Valparaiso community by bringing awareness upon this issue, thus helping others stay safe. While human trafficking is largely an invisible problem, education on the matter can help save lives.