Revolutions don't usually have print production budgets. And so we associate their ephemera with low-cost, one or two color reproductions that can be produced cheaply and in smaller runs. If the movement went bust, no harm done, but if it took off, print production had to scale-up at an alarming rate and couldn't afford to be held back due to photo quality or press checks.
This generation saw the commoditization of that aesthetic: Che Guevara's face, in black vector-style art, on posters, stickers and t-shirts. For decades, the revolutionary style was relegated to angry teens and misinformed college students trying to make a cheap statement of rebellion. But the power of revolutionary design is making its way through our cultural landscape once again.
What do the aesthetics of revolution look like now? Not much different.It's present on book covers such as Dave Eggers' What is the What, a story of an African Genocide survivor. Eggers, the founder of McSweeny's, thoughtfully pulls from the past to speak to the weight of his subject's experience.
And most recently, in our current political climate. The flat, silhouetted style of American Presidential Hopeful, Barack Obama posters, design by Go Tell Mama I'm for Obama, carries with it a distinct revolutionary tone.
The earth-toned palettes reference revolutions-past, using gestalt patters of bull-horns to create sun rays circling the figure-head of the movement. The typeface remains primitive, the application intentionally loose. Reds and blues pop to excite the viewer, creating just enough positive energy to become iconic, and avoid the dreaded tag of propaganda.Barack has been able to grab the imaginations of a young design-centered audience like no other candidate in our history. Here, that reality becomes clear, as design and color differentiate this candidate in a clear strategy to connect the youth with his message of "Change." And for better or worse, strong design seems united with politics once again.
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