These Posters Have a Voice: Protest Posters 2 Entries

Promoting a viewpoint and taking a side are two major parts of a protest poster. Our entries for our Protest Posters 2 competition never fail when it comes to this, and this week, our posters focus on three big issues found worldwide to inspire others and call for change: environment, social commentary, and women’s rights. 

“Biophilia” (above, left; Portugal) was created by Graphis Master João Machado for The 4th Block Association. The environmental poster demonstrates the beauty of nature and how every aspect of it is beautiful. To Machado, biophilia is defined as “the innate human instinct to connect with nature and other living beings.” It’s more than just a concept; biophilic design has been found to support cognitive function, physical health, and psychological well-being.

“Unity Makes the Virus Stop” (above, right; South Korea) is a social commentary poster developed by Graphis Master Hoon-Dong Chung for the Unity is Strength 2020 International Invitational Poster Exhibition of Anti-New Coronavirus. Its goal is to get others to come together to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the poster, ‘U’ as the first letter in ‘Unity’, is depicted as the element which can stop the virus from spreading. In the design field, this poster received stellar reviews, making it an effective tool to promote protecting people’s health. 

“2020 Action Means Everything” (above, left; U.S.) is a self-initiated poster created by Hsiao-Wen Hu as part of a project of Hu’s observation of 2020. It’s obvious to all that 2020 was a difficult year that raised lots of questions and challenges worldwide. With all the craziness happening, the year finally forced us to take meaningful action, such as wearing masks, voting, and unlearning biases. The visual design of the campaign takes inspiration from protest arts, translating platitudinous phrases into lively and straightforward narratives. The campaign proposal advocates the importance of actions over empty promises, making people take notice of the changes and empowerment brought by active participation. The result is successful, inspiring more content and related products.

“Smash Patriarchy” (above, right; U.S.) stands for women’s rights, and is a self-initiated poster designed by Aarti Thamma. Patriarchy is a term that certainly should feel like a thing of the past; however, with the rise of the “Me Too” movement, society is able to see that the problem has merely been covered up, and it still exists. It’s important for this conversation to take place in order to bring change, so the poster is to represent the women who support each other in breaking the patriarchy. This idea is demonstrated through the powerful depiction of women’s fists of women. The poster has sparked conversation and hopefully will continue to over time. 

Without protest posters, messages may not be shared as effectively to large audiences. Feeling inspired to take a stand? You have until 11:59 p.m. TONIGHT, July 13, 2021, to enter our Protest Posters 2 competition.