29 Comments

thank you very much for this wonderful inspiration
André Padez
2011-03-28 12:31:29

Brilliant - it's the low fi ones that really get me excited, they just seem more personal and heartfelt and so deliver their message with a real punch

If you like these you might find this piece I put together on the history of protest placards in the uk interesting... http://www.forster.co.uk/blog.0.23.html
adam
2011-03-28 12:36:26

These are brilliant.
James Nelson
2011-03-28 12:42:29

Absolutely fantastic! Love them all but the "This sign would be more creative but..." is the errr, ummn, well, the most creative?!?

Shame about the lack of pitchforks and flaming torches though.
Stu Mason
2011-03-28 13:14:18

If someone can explain why these protesters who are mainly state employees beleive they have a right not to have their standard of living cut when they are all being funded by us private sector workers who are facing real cuts, jobs losses and reduced pensions thanks to Brown and Bliar.

They should try working in the real world where salaries, jobs and pensions are not guaranteed.
ricksrants
2011-03-28 13:24:58

@ricksrants
I was one of the guys with the stars wars banner.

In our group we had, a designer, an animator, a trainee university lecturer, a shop employee, a delivery manager, all for private companies along with me, a producer for an arts charity and part time MA student. The cuts affect us ALL, not just the public sector workers!

It's not my standard of living I'm worried about, it's my future.
lunkeymarna
2011-03-28 13:33:15

@lunkeymarna

here here!

And not just your future either - the future of anyone, young or old, who wants a propserous, healthy UK
adam sweeney
2011-03-28 13:55:28

@risksrants - See @lunkeymarna. Also, this is a page about banner design.
TheMushyPea
2011-03-28 14:53:24

Great post!

I was there on Saturday too and was thoroughly entertained by the array of witty(?) placards and banners. A few of my snaps here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/koolbenny/sets/72157626237971635/
Ben
2011-03-28 15:54:20

Great post, thanks. It's a pity there aren't more creative, socially aware and highly observant people in power - not just out protesting.

True, it might cost a few politicians and business leaders their jobs. But it could save the rest of us a lot of pain in the long run. . .
Johnny
2011-03-28 18:30:34

V.creative.

News: The real Nick Clegg has been found safe and alive
http://twitpic.com/3l87x7

On a somewhat more serious note:
Police Stand By As Colleagues in Plain Clothes Break Windows
At 5.54 of this BBC footage, an 'anarchist' shows his pass to police and moves through the lines.
http://t.co/3weNTJD
MLA
2011-03-28 18:42:48

Thanks for featuring one of my photos. I was very impressed by the intelligence, diversity and creativity of many of the protest banners. This was my favourite, I was crying with laughter:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/5563331699/
duncan
2011-03-28 20:12:45

I was there too. best banner I saw said 'I am a little fed up with this sort of thing.' illustrates the fact that most of the marchers are not radical protesters but ordinary working people.
Anne Richards.
2011-03-28 20:27:24

I love the pictures. Thanks for sharing. Some of the pictures on Ben's Flickr are absolutely brilliant (including a few of our students).

There are a few more of our students' placards here: http://schoolcommunicationarts.com/march26-students-revolting/

One of the trade mags should sponsor a Best Placard award....seen some really good stuff over the weekend.
Marc
2011-03-28 22:09:49

I rather liked the simple "The 'Big Society' is not happy banner and the 'Rita of Tower hamlets says..." seen here: http://www.urban75.org/blog/march-for-the-alternative-london-demo-220-photos/
steve thomas
2011-03-29 11:25:45

nice :) ... I hope the government takes notice.
bluepigcreative
2011-03-29 14:26:15

The banners are all very creative, but there is a lack of any suggestion of another option in any of them. SDaying you don't want cuts is great, but where are the better ideas. I mean seriously no one in their right mind would run a private sector comapny with the equivalent levl of dept that our country has, and the sooner it is reduced the quicker we can all get on with our lives again in a much more stable position.

How about designing some banners with some suggestions on rather than just ranting ????
Steven
2011-03-29 14:53:54

. What about the 'silent' majority who agree its absolutely about time that its time for the public sector to take a little bit of pain This is one issue where the protesters are masively out of tune with most of the country. - good placards though!
tom
2011-03-29 15:49:36

Steven maybe you're not paying attention…although demanding the alternative on a placard is a tall ask, one look at the TUC website or False Economy website would show you there are costed alternatives like investing in a million green jobs, stopping tax evasion and avoidance, taking back some of the money given to the banks, taxing the rich etc etc…

See: http://falseeconomy.org.uk/cure/whats-the-false-economy-alternative

The UK's debt is not historically that high, it is not even that high compared with other European countries, plus most of it is tied up in Pension funds and doesn't mature for ages, it DOES NOT need to be brought down asap.

It is also worth noting that the 1000 richest people in the UK got £77 billion richer LAST YEAR, that's on top of the £335 billion they already have (up from £99 billion ten years ago) and in the last year 89% of all new income produced went to profits – of £27bn produced, £24bn went to profits, and only £2bn went to wages.

That's the rub, the rich are ripping us all off, and then not paying taxes, so we then have to suffer, after we, the public bailed out the private banking industry (and may have to again as it hasn't been reformed).

And anyway what's wrong with a rant? ;)
noel douglas
2011-03-29 15:55:51

Tom,

sorry did the public sector cause the crisis? No… Capitalism and the banking sector did, and if you don't believe me listen to Mervyn King:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8355475/Anger-at-the-banks-is-justified-Mervyn-King-says.html

Maybe you are masochist, but there is no simple seperation between public and private, in that plenty of private sector companies rely on public sector contracts, and as a society we ALL rely on teachers, nurses, doctors, posties, carers etc to make this society work.

On Saturday there was well over 500,000 people (not 250,000 as CR suggest), the march took 5 hours, these people along with their friends and all the others who couldn't make it, make up the MAJORITY of the working people of this country, so you're wrong about the silent majority being for attacks on the public sector.
noel douglas
2011-03-29 16:28:09

You cannot stop the power of graphics!... these are a fantastic example of the way we convey our messages!
- It's a shame that the coalition are blind!
sheryl
2011-03-30 07:27:40

Really creative banners, love the fact that we can protest with such style and wit.

Disappointed a bit with everyone arguing on this blog about taxing the rich etc etc, this is Creative Review not The Guardian, surely we stick to the task at hand, comment, pass on links to like minded sites and congratulate the sign makers on a job well done. Interesting as it may be there's a time and a place for political debate and I'm not sure this is it.

If you want a debate stick to our classics, 'Can Design be Art' is a good place to start.... ;-)
Lee Isherwood
2011-03-30 09:37:16

Really creative and inspirational work. I was in London, covering the event, in particular the peaceful UK Uncut protests - actors Sam and Timothy West performed a short play outside BHS on Oxford Street - http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidjcolbran/sets/72157626359643054/
Liverpool Photographer
2011-03-30 10:08:23

Star Wars image is pure genius. It's a pity these guys are not in a Galaxy far far away.

Like the home made feel of most of the entries. I wonder if they would all be so charming if they had right wing sentiments plastered on the placards?
Karl Foster
2011-03-30 12:41:31

That's what I love about the British. The harder life gets the more witty you become. It's incredible. Someone should do a documentary about it (or a trendy poster).
Justin Spencer
2011-03-30 12:57:22

Yes I agree with Justin Spencer totally...when our backs are against the wall and the telling tales of life being about to take a new turn... we creatives get creative - let's celebrate what we do best..... tell wonderful stories, more documentaries and trendy posters.
Adil
2011-03-30 13:30:25

@Lee maybe you ought to look at Design history, quite a lot of politics involved in that…I was answering ignorant comments about the causes of cuts, something that affects us all, I see no reason why CR's blog should not engage in political debate especially in a feature about a political march and graphics, this notion that that 'art' or 'design' are somehow seperate and different worlds from politics is sloppy thinking and does us all no favours, we're not just making pretty pictures (even if many only make pretty pictures) we're dealing communication which is a social and political act.
noel douglas
2011-03-30 17:07:17

@lee, I think if you check you'll see that the 'Guardian' type comments were in response to ricksrants , tom and steven who were all criticising public sector workers. And I must say that the responses were jolly lucid and intelligent (they agree with me so they must be).

Frankly I'm getting a bit bored of this private sector vs public sector line which I feel is a bit of a distraction....you might even think a divide and conquer strategy.

I love to hear a bit of chat about choices of different futures if we follow different philosophies and political/economic choices. I reckon that's a kind of imagination and creativity.

Well done all the chaps & gels with the banners. I love em. I even perhaps like the 'Keep Calm' one the best.
alice quayle
2011-03-31 02:07:03

Brilliant. I love the one about the puppy!
Jackie Morris
2011-12-07 07:51:13

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