The Design of Dissent

 

Dissent is an essential part of keeping democratic societies healthy, and our ability as citizens to voice our opinions is not only our privilege, it is our responsibility. Without this dialogue, the backbone of what we have fought for so desperately could easily collapse.

Over the past several decades, we have seen the number of democratic societies around the globe increase, and during the past ten years, there has been a heightened awareness of the increasing conflicts and problems that both directly and indirectly affect our everyday lives.

With the Middle East's never-ending conflict, Bush's “war on terrorism,” and numerous financial and environmental crises, people's sense of safety, power, and representation has diminished, in part, because they feel they have no voice.

Designers, however, have used their skills to communicate their dissent throughout history and are doing so even more now since the birth of the Web and the increasing ease of distributing posters and other printed materials. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, designers have used this adage to their advantage by creating simple yet powerful images that immediately convey poignant messages to their viewers.

The Design of Dissent examines graphic work that focuses on social and political concerns from around the globe. The time for this work is certainly ripe, as the US, and the world, flare in opposition to many important issues.

238 pages, case-bound with dust jacket
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