The revolutionary spirit of 1968 is alive and well

Your article ‘The medium is the message’ (News Analysis, DW 1 May) posed the question ‘Where are today’s equivalents of the graphic expression of revolutionary spirit last seen in 1968?’. I would put forward for consideration our poster for the Cluster Munition Coalition.

As a designer, I am passionate about work that carries a message. Many designers are producing work about today’s struggles – war, arms exports, famine, natural disasters and oppression.

The CMC is an organisation that calls on governments to protect civilians and to negotiate a treaty on banning the use of cluster bombs. The poster (pictured) was designed to convey a message to any nationality.

Most key decision-makers today are diplomats and politicians, and in targeting them we had to ensure we didn’t create ‘design for designers’.

We also devised the strategy targeting attendees at the recent Dublin diplomatic conference on cluster bombs. During the conference, Dublin was plastered with posters

and ‘sign-up walls’ on which the public could vent opinions.

This visual presence boosted the campaign by cutting through the jargon that surrounds modern struggles.

There are many designers creating work that displays a passion for a cause, for which they get little credit or financial reward, and which rarely receives press coverage.

Cluster bombs maim, injure and kill civilians. I hope, as a designer, to have played a part in changing opinions and shaping the future on this issue.

Gareth Holt, by e-mail

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