Research Practical OUGD401

I looked at politically charged design to get a grasp of graphic designs role in social and political upheaval. I looked at a broad set of posters and books to find inspiration which will help me to produce my final resolutions, a response to the essay which I wrote. Looking at colour and composition, imagery and typefaces used within these designs, I want to pick up key elements used in political design so as to produce a piece which will work to influence, inform and inspire like most political works have done so in modern times.

This poster represents the oppression in Columbia in South America, it was made by a French activist group who raise support for what is happening over there. Red seems a common theme throughout politically charged design work I shall look into the connections. The two tone style imagery adds a grit to the piece showing the harshness of the topic.

This book cover of Steven Kelmans Push Comes To Shove book on student protest uses hand drawn illustrations to create its point, showing students hand gestures possibly towards the government at the time, again the use of red can be seen in the clenched fist, perhaps to show the anger and tension in the fight against establishment. The simple line drawings which make up the cover are clear and relevant to the context of the book, there is clear use of grid systems.

This is a lithograph poster (A lithograph is a print made by drawing on limestone with wax crayons, applying ink onto the stone and printing the image onto paper) which translates to 'We Will Go On Until The End' it is used to show the protests of the Paris 1968 unrest. The imagery used is really strong using just a black and white image of a mass crowd with large bold san serif type to clearly put across the message.

Dada was an cultural movement which occurred between the years 1915 and 1923. Originated in Zürich, the Dadaist movement and its loose network of artists spread across Europe as well as into other countries, with New York becoming the primary centre of Dada in the United States. The very word Dada is difficult to define and its origins are disputed, even amongst the Dadaists themselves. This poster takes aspects of dadaist art work and over lays it with a screen print of the event which is taking place in new york, once again it uses red heavily in its design.

This poster was run for a free speech a movement held by a university campus showing the want for peace and environmental change. the poster uses a red and pink edited image something which has occurred numerous times throughout my research.