This week’s newest entries in Protest Posters 2 speak volumes with their messages of tolerance, acceptance, and truth.
Starting off this round is Michael Schwab’s design “Los Californios”, which refers to those born under Spanish rule in the 1700-1800s. Schwab, who established his own studio in San Anselmo, California in 1999 designed this as a publication cover for the California State Parks’ Society of California Archaeology. Schwab was inspired by the state’s rich cultural heritage and wanted his design to not just reflect it, but celebrate it. In his design, Schwab depicts one in silhouette: a dark indigo figure set against a burnt orange, sunset-colored background. The typography is reminiscent of the style found on vintage Western posters. The result is bursting with alma — the Spanish word for “soul.”
Next up is “Tolerance” (or “Toleranssia”), designed by Graphis Master Kari Piippo of Finland. Piippo founded his own studio in 1987 and has won various accolades throughout his career, including the Pro Finlandia Medal and Graphic Artist of the Year in Finland, as well as a Gold Award in Graphis’s Logo Design 5 competition. Piippo, who specializes in illustration and posters, came up with this design for an international poster show put on by Mirko Illić Corp. in New York. The poster itself depicts an atmosphere dominated by intolerance; Piippo’s rainbow is being choked out with grays, black splotches, and cracks overtaking it. Given all that has occurred in recent times, spreading a message of tolerance is becoming more and more important every day. Thanks to contributors like Piippo, the Tolerance Traveling Poster Show circulates around the globe and visits many different universities and galleries.
