Amnesty logo designer dies

The designer responsible for Amnesty’s iconic candle and barbed wire logo has died.

Diana Redhouse was a talented artist and designer who during the war had been conscripted to work in the Government’s drawing office. She trained at Central St Martins College of Art and Design before working as a graphic designer, and was inspired to found the Hampstead branch of Amnesty after reading an article by the charity’s founder, Peter Benenson.

Her Amnesty design was inspired by the Chinese proverb, ‘Better to light a candle than curse the darkness’. It became the international symbol of the Amnesty movement.

‘Diana Redhouse’s legacy is a design that is recognised the world over as an emblem for hope, a sign of optimism over repression and of our collective ability to change the world,’ says Amnesty International acting secretary Kate Gilmore.
‘Diana’s work is a powerful symbol that has become the inspiration for millions of people worldwide who believe in a world in which everyone enjoys the full range of human rights.’