In 2013, while studying Graphic Design at Portland State University, I (Mark Boehly) focused my senior thesis on the power of graffiti and public art. I was particularly inspired by artist Steve Powers and his series A Love Letter for You, where he painted fifty murals across West Philadelphia. Each mural formed part of a fictional love story told through rooftop messages—an artistic dialogue with the city and its people.

For my own thesis, I created a public art campaign rooted in real voices and current events. Drawing from my daily commute on Portland’s Green Line MAX, I began asking fellow passengers a simple but provocative question: “If you could change one thing in America, what would it be?” Over fifty people responded. As I read through their answers, a pattern of shared concerns and hopes began to emerge.

I selected the most resonant responses and translated them into a series of typographic posters—each hand-drawn in a stacked style to preserve the raw, expressive quality of street art. I developed a visual identity for the campaign, including a DA monogram and the project’s central question as a tagline. The logo was subtly embedded in each poster, allowing them to stand alone or work as a collective.

Each design was printed at a large, four-foot scale in black and white. To maintain the spirit of street art, I created homemade wheatpaste and mounted the posters onto tarps—making the project both portable and true to its urban influence.