Humanity is the Core of These Protest Poster Entries!

The four newest entries to the Protest Poster 2 competition each represent a facet of humanity within their works, calling for social or global humanitarian justice with impactful, thoughtful imagery.

U.S designer Michael Schwab’s poster celebrates the cultural heritage of the California State Parks. The silhouette of “Los Californios” stands out against the vibrant orange backdrop and looks into the distance. Schwab’s poster puts the Californios under the California State Parks’ spotlight, bringing attention to the history of those born during Spanish colonial rule in the 18th century.

From Taiwan, Leo Lin makes a statement about global warming. A silhouette juts out from a cool waterline. Only the tip of the nose, chin, and forehead surface above the bold blue waters. Lin’s “Global Warming” poster strikes right to the heart of the climate change problem and the irony that we are only drowning ourselves by allowing the ice caps to continue melting.

Confusion, fear, grief, and isolation are rampant worldwide during the pandemic. Japanese art director Hajime Tsushima portrays those mixed emotions in his “Human Being and Nature” poster for the China Advertising Association with a single grey teardrop filled with thin, meshing lines arranged in abstract geometric shapes. The teardrop shape represents this chaos as well as a drop of life, suggesting that within these confusing emotions is hope for the future.

The next protest entry is from Iran, “The Ace Right” by Hossein Abdi, a striking monochrome poster featuring an ace of spades playing card. The black spade in the center of the poster has been edited to look like an open lock. In creating this poster, he intended to emphasize the instrumental right to freedom of speech in today’s world. Unrestrained free speech is the “ace” to winning any situation.

Take the opportunity to submit to the Protest Posters 2!