I highlighted in the self initiated brief to consider awareness and protest as the best possible way to make people aware of ageism and to change perceptions. Therefore I decided to look more into protests and campaigns that have been both strong conceptually but also aesthetically. Not all the protest examples I looked at have been successful in their attempts to make a change, but nevertheless they gave an insight into the role of graphic design in protest and the forms it can come in.
A good start was to look at the May 1968 Paris riots which saw workers and students protesting against the increasing levels of unemployment and poverty that were all too apparent under Charles de Gaulle’s conservative government. The protest was unsuccessful but the handmade posters used during protest which were created by the art students have stood the test of time.
During the short protest hundreds of silkscreen posters were produced as an outpouring of political graphic art. And described as “weapons in the service of the struggle… an inseparable part of it. Their rightful place is in the centres of conflict, that is to say, in the streets and on the walls of the factories.” I like how the posters act as weapon in protest and are the sole visual reference to the protest which occurred in 1968.
A more recent example of protests with a graphic design/arts community behind it, is 'Pins wont save the world' from Sagmeister & Walsh. Although Trump was elected president of the United States the pins and badges aloud people be able to wear their heart (and politics) on their sleeves. The merchandise was priced low and was non profit as the proceeds were donated to Amnesty International's. I take inspiration from how the campaign was distributed as one consideration for this brief is to understand the distribution of the outcome.
One really cool project I found relating to protest and graphic design was Can Typography Be a Form of Protest by Emily Schofield. To start her research led her to wonder if there are forms of protest in graphic design. And she drew a parallel between typography as a tool that abides by rules, and thought that maybe type could break free of these structures.
The project aims to look at the ability of letterforms to express protest, as portrayed in her Swiss-style series of posters. However, through these she found that letterforms themselves weren’t breaking free, they could never become disentangled from the slogans or missives they spelled out. She then went on to a more experimental investigation about whether or not the protest can be just the typeface, and not what it spells. The result was a website that manifests the idea that a typeface can become autonomous and subvert its own content.
Also looking at how the voice of protests is characterized by art and design was interesting to see why certain colours and letterforms are used. A lot of protest work has emulated early propaganda posters, which used contrasting, primary colors. High contrasting colors are the most memorable to a viewer. The high chroma colors captivate the eye; therefore, these posters have maximum impact on the viewer.
By far, the most common colors chosen by designers are red, black, and white. In color psychology, red evokes physical courage, strength, energy, and masculinity. Portraying defiance, aggression and strain, it becomes an obvious choice in protest of war and struggle because of the reference to bloodshed. Pure red is the simplest color, and is demanding and aggressive, not to mention it has been scientifically proven to raise pulse rate and emotionally stimulate the onlooker.
Black can depict one of two sides. On one side, it depicts sophistication, safety and substance. However, when it’s paired with strong, emotional copy, it conveys oppression, coldness, heaviness and sorrow. Using heavy amounts of black convey authority, power, strength and evil. When paired together, red and black become powerful extremely powerful. Many designers add white, which creates additional coldness and contrast. Yellow is commonly used as an accent with red and black. Yellow is often used to say “caution” or “pay attention”. Because it is a rare color, it demands attention. It is also the most memorable color. Therefore, a poster with yellow typography has great potential to be recognized and remembered.
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