The 2020 California Wildfires Poster

California Wildfires (2020)
Part of the Global Warming Awareness Poster Series
Design by Gianluca Franzese

The sky turned red. The air thickened. California burned — and the world watched through a haze.
This poster confronts the devastation of the 2020 wildfires, one of the most destructive fire seasons in California history. Entire communities were swallowed by smoke and flame, and the skies themselves transformed into surreal, apocalyptic shades.

Wavy lines in searing hues of orange, red, and yellow echo the smog-choked atmosphere that turned the sun into a blood-red disc. These intense colors flow across the silhouette of California, stark in white, to symbolize both the scope of destruction and the state’s fragile outline under pressure. The design’s clarity and contrast drive home the warning: global warming is real, and its consequences are no longer distant.

It’s a visual record of a real climate disaster — an image designed to hold space for what happened, and what’s still happening.
Each piece is a reminder that these events didn’t come out of nowhere, and they won’t be the last — unless we remember.

Printed on synthetic 4533 press, this poster benefits from enhanced durability and color vibrancy. The synthetic 4533 press technology uses advanced printing techniques to ensure that the colors remain vivid and the material withstands various environmental conditions, making it ideal for long-term display and preservation.

Poster Size: 12 inches x 18 inches