Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: Protest Posters 2

As more problems become prevalent throughout the world, people are starting to more urgently rally themselves and their peers to advocate for change. From the United States of America to Bulgaria, this sentiment is present in this week’s choice Protest Posters 2 entries.

Our first entry is a self-initiated project titled “Ignorance“, created by American designer Carmit Makler Haller (above, left). Haller said that she created the poster because, in her words, “We are in the midst of a social and political apocalypse. While we may seem to deny or ignore it, our time is running out.” Haller drives this home with her image of an hourglass, where inside a human skull is breaking down into dust and sand; death is already here, and it’s the beginning of the end. In using this dark imagery, Haller is stressing to viewers that something must be done in order to slow or reverse the decline of mankind.

This attitude is further reflected within the self-initiated project “PROTEST!” (above, right) by Ivan Kashlakov of Bulgaria. When asked why he designed this poster, Kashlakov said, “Around 400,000 people have protested from the 9^th of July across Bulgaria against the government. The civic consciousness has been awakened and ready to fight against injustice. They want a normal justice system free of corruption and laws that are applicable to everybody with no exceptions.” For his approach, he created his own angry emoticon, which is shouting “PROTEST. PROTEST. PROTEST…” in the colors of the Bulgarian flag. Using an emoticon is a symbolic point regarding the rage of Bulgaria’s youth as they long for a normal quality of life and sustainable society and country. In creating this work, Kashlakov created more awareness for what’s happening in his country. Similar to Haller’s poster, “PROTEST!” shows the importance of people campaigning for change.

Lastly, Florida Atlantic University (above) in the US created “PLASTICS LAST” for their client Dr. Karen Leader, an art historian, educator, and director for community projects empowering youth activists. Leader gave them the assignment to design a poster for social media to promote awareness of plastic pollution and for the screening and panel discussion around the documentary film, “The Story of Plastic,” a Pale Blue Dot Media production in association with React To Film. The film illustrates the catastrophic effects of plastic pollution from poisonous emissions as a result of the production and processing of plastics and the fact that plastics can consume our landscapes with disastrous consequences. As opposed to an illustrative poster design, the designer wanted to explore a typographic approach as they discovered that “plastics” had the word “last” in it, which they said inspired the design solution. As a result, Leader loved it, and the poster was shared via Facebook and email blasts. The poster shares a similar theme with the other two entries as it stresses the immediacy of something needing to be done for the greater good of the planet.

For more on these posters and designers, be sure to check out more entries from our Protest Posters 2 competition online.