A stark silhouette of a human head is drawn with a single black electrical cord, its plug hovering where the face might begin and the line looping into tight coils inside the skull. Frayed patches reveal flashes of red and blue wiring, a simple but unsettling detail that turns a clean graphic into a warning about unseen danger. With minimal text and plenty of empty space, the design leans on visual shock to make the message land instantly.
Posters like this from the National Safety Council of Australia show how 1970s safety campaigns used modern illustration to translate everyday risks into unforgettable symbols. Electricity isn’t depicted as a sparking outlet or a burning appliance; instead, it becomes part of the body, suggesting how quickly a household or workplace hazard can become personal. The result is both instructional and psychological, a piece of public health communication that speaks through metaphor as much as information.
For readers exploring Australian safety history, this cover art offers a vivid entry point into the era’s visual language—bold, direct, and engineered for quick recognition on a wall or noticeboard. It also works beautifully as a study in graphic design, where line, contrast, and a single disruptive detail carry the entire story. Filed under National Safety Council of Australia posters from the 1970s, the image preserves a time when “keeping people safe and well” was packaged in striking, memorable print.