PROTESTS

During my research I looked into many different protest movements such as Black Lives Matter and The Suffragettes. Both of these movements have been extremely significant in paving the way for rights and societal changes. The Suffragettes were part of the long-running 'Votes for Women' campaign, which battled for women's right to vote in the United Kingdom. They fought for female suffrage through art, debate, and propaganda. Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international social movement founded in 2013 in the United States to combat racism and anti-Black violence, particularly police brutality. Not only have I looked into these movements as they link to my brand messages of social consciousness and inclusivity but I also wanted to delve deeper into the propaganda and symbols of protests. Two symbols which I looked closely at were the ‘black power raised fist’ for the Black Lives Matter movement and The Feminist ‘Femme Fist’ for women’s rights. The designer of the ‘Femme ‘Fist’ Pardue claims her image was inspired by an unsuccessful search for "feminine-appearing clenched fists," which she discovered were "all still extremely forceful and male looking" even when used for 1970s women's movements (Gosling, 2022).

The majority of significant protests such as BLM and The Suffragettes use signs to convey meaningful messages and slogans. In most recent protests the signs and messages used are as important as the protest themselves and probably the most shared aspect across social media platforms. This is something I wanted to use in my campaign in order to voice the messages of my campaign. I wanted my messages to be clear and eye catching for my audience and believed this was an impactful way to do so.