Hasta La Ideas

As one commenter pointed out in our post on the newspaper designed for Occupy London, the visual material of protest is often rooted in the means of production available. Reflective of the fact that modern movements are organised online and on-screen, freetoprotest.org aims to offer graphic support to a host of different causes…

Launched today, Free to Protest supplies visual material for protest marches and demonstrations. Visitors to freetoprotest.org can select a particular movement or cause from a drop down menu (at the moment it features only the Occupy movement) and from there choose from a range of slogans set in 12 different coloured discs. Click on one of the 192 options and it downloads as a PDF, which can be printed off to make badges, signs, t-shirts or posters.

As a resource, it’s simple, quick to use and will benefit those without the skills or equipment to create bold graphics. Of course, effective protest depends upon good organisation and the distribution of a clear message, so designers have a vital role to play in the process.

But protesters have always found ways to create striking imagery without the hand of the designer. Kristopher Rae’s short film of the sheer range of placards and signs on display in New York’s Foley Square in October is testament to that.

CR in Print

Not getting Creative Review in print too? You’re missing out.

In print, Creative Review carries far richer, more in-depth articles than we run here on the blog. This month, for example, we have nine pages on Saul Bass, plus pieces on advertising art buyers, Haddon Sundblom, the illustrator who ensured that Coke will forever be linked with Santa Claus, Postmodernism, Brighton’s new football ground and much more. Plus, it’s our Photography Annual, which means an additional 85 pages of great images, making our November issue almost 200-pages long, the biggest issue of CR for 5 years.

If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK, you can search for your nearest stockist here. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.