Democracy in Print

Democracy in Print № Words

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The Labour Party’s Design vernacular in the Post War Period, 1945-1955.

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2020

Amir Saidani

Visual Communication Royal College of Art

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Contents 01— 02

Illustrations

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Introduction

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The Poster as a Political Tool (1840-Present)

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And Now - Win the Peace (1945)

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The Soldiers of Lead (1950)

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For Radical Reform (1951)

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Send Attlee!

(1955)

55— 60

Analysis

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Conclusion

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Bibliography

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Illustrations 001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 037 038 039 040 041 042 043

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Democracy in Print

Alfred Leete Abram Games Alfrédo Rostgaard Rafael Enriquezs John Armstrong Philip Zec Philip Zec Philip Zec Philip Zec Philip Zec Philip Zec Philip Zec Philip Zec Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown

Lord Kitchener Wants You YOUR BRITAIN FIGHT FOR IT NOW Day of Solidarity with the Congo, 1972 Foreign Debt AND NOW - WIN THE PEACE LABOUR FOR HIM LABOUR FOR HER LABOUR FOR HOMES LABOUR FOR PROSPERITY LABOUR FOR SECURITY HELP THEM FINISH THEIR JOB! LET’S BUILD THE HOUSES - QUICK! INDUSTRY MUST SERVE THE PEOPLE - NOT ENSLAVE THEM Remember? Don't give the Tories another chance.

You wouldn't put out a government which has done so much for us?

They remember - and they're voting Labour A million new homes thanks to Labour Labour's Health Service covers everyone.

The Good Neighbour - Votes Labour His Future - Your Vote!

Labour see that you get these.

Work for all... thanks to Labour Healthy thanks to Labour High profits for big business. High prices for housewives For Radical reform Tories would - Slash subsidies and push prices up Keep the Peace Keep Labour at Westminster Declare war on the profiteers It's never happened before - six years of full employment End the profit ramp Give Labour security in the House to give you security in the Home Use it for peace Troies - profits for the few Labour profits everybody We can't afford a Tory Government The Good Neighbour Votes Labour Vote Attlee/You Can Trust Mr. Attlee Record High Prices. Toryism doesn't work.

What price Tea? Toryism doesn't work.

Mills Closing Down. Toryism doesn't work.

Pensioners Hard Up! Toryism doesn't work.

Better Schools with Labour Abolish the Tax on Sport vote Labour Top Level Talks - Send Attlee!

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Introduction

Politics and Graphic Design, two enormous concepts, both areas imbued with a wealth of history, and two areas in which I have a large personal interest in; as a member of the Labour Party and practising Graphic Designer; both form parts of my identity. Both areas are enormous in history and research on their own and can be debated in great depth in isolation, but for me, the real interest is when you bring them together and start to analyse how they interact as a duo. These are realms that are diverse and require a lot more time to explore them in full, you can dip in at any point in time and context and produce a fascinating study in its own right and settling down to write this it wasn’t totally obvious what I should cover, what proverbial sweet should I select, without trying to do it all. This research will focus on the Post-War period and the Posters that the Labour Party were using in General Elections in this timeframe. This research will analyse, explore and debate the vernacular of the Labour party in this period, how it used visual language to influence the public to vote for the party, and explore how the poster was used as a political tool.

For this exploration, I will define the broad term of the ‘post-war period’ as being from 1945 lasting up until 1960. A time of great social but also aesthetic upheaval, as the World was reimagined in the aftermath of World War Two. I will approach this exploration by studying each general election that occurs in this period, starting with the watershed Labour Party win at the 1945 General Election, and continuing to analyse the 3 other elections in this period under the stewardship of Leader, Clement Attlee; 1950, 1951 and ending with the 1955 election. This will allow me to not only discuss the

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design of each election but it will also allow me to pose each election contextually alongside the happenings of the time; social, political and otherwise. Alongside getting to grips with each election I’ll also preface this research with a broader exploration into the Poster; it’s historical context and use as a political tool and motif. This will help give me a wider and more holistic view of the topic and give me an interesting contextual framework to analyse the content at the heart of the work.

To give a wider understanding of the subject matter it’s important to give context into what and who The Labour Party are. In the United Kingdom, The Party has formed part of the ‘mainstream’ of politics since the realigning election of 1922 in which they consigned the Liberals to ‘Third Party’ status, and all future Governments were commanded by the Labour Party or the Conservatives. The party grew out of the Trade Union movement in the late 19th Century, born out of a recognition of the newly enfranchised workingclass population that Britain had acquired after the enactment of the second parliamentary reform bill in 1867, and widening of suffrage in 18841 and 1 G. A. Philips, The Rise of the Labour a need for representation of these WorkingParty, 1893-1931, Lancaster Pamphlets Class communities in Parliament. Set against (London ; New York: Routledge, 1992), the backdrop of Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels' p. 1.

‘The Communist Manifesto’ published in 1848, Engels’ ‘The Condition of the Working Class in England’ in 1845 and Marx’s ‘Das Kapital’ in 1867, leftist political ideology had a real theoretical grounding, and out of these ideas and with the support of the Trade Union movement, the Independent Labour Party & Scottish Labour Party merged to form the Labour Representation Committee, which later became the Labour Party. As the fight for the advancement of the

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Working Class cause continued; the recognition of the need for better pay and working conditions, the membership of the party grew with it.

I think it’s important in terms of this research, in which I’m exploring the visual narrative of the Labour Party to note that even in its formative days of the Independent Labour Party even with a minimal membership, it was its media output that grew its presence and recognition, Socialist Newspapers like the ‘Labour Leader’ and the ‘Clarion’ alongside others were read by a large number of people.2 It’s this ‘media 2 G. A. Philips, The Rise of the Labour literate’ influence that was able to keep the Party, 1893-1931, Lancaster Pamphlets embers of a Working-Class Socialist based (London ; New York: Routledge, 1992), party alive in its early years. p. 6.

Politics and Graphic Design are profoundly influential, it can be argued that they wield this influence subliminally, they surround and influence us daily, at times without us knowing. As design and political culture evolve in the 21st century, amid protests against oppressive institutions, crippling financial uncertainty and a re-building of the very way we live in a postCOVID environment, what can we take away from the visual culture of a similarly unprecedented time?

In terms of what I aim to discover, this research is free from an agenda or set questioning, my aim is to be guided by the process, as I have set out I am a Labour member and I have my own inherent biases in terms of my politics and aesthetic opinions, so I will attempt to frame this work in the form of a discussion, nothing I say is doctrine, but an interpretation of what the designer or party was trying to achieve, probing these discussion points in parallel with contemporary ideas. In this process of discovery themes of interest

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will present themselves, hopefully enlightening how we perceive the poster and this period in a modern context.

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The Poster as a Political Tool (1840-Present)

The poster; as an item of design has become synonymous with activism and protest, a format that speaks a thousand voices; arguably the social media advertisement owes its existence to the work the poster had put in before it. But despite this defining influence on the world of both design and politics, in the modern form that we commonly associate the poster with, there is relatively short history; dating back to the 1840s aided by the improvement of lithographic printing. After this high-speed presses paved the way for mass production printing.3 3 Stephen

Eskilson, Graphic Design: A History, 2nd ed (London: Laurence King Publ. Ltd, 2012), pp.

43–47.

It wasn’t until the two World Wars that the poster cemented itself as the optimal medium for political communication,4 4 Harold Frederick Hutchison, The Poster: images of Alfred Leete’s infamous 1914 ‘Lord An Illustrated History from 1860 (London: Kitchener Wants You’ [№ 001] and Abram Studio Vista, 1968), p. 12.47.

Games’ ‘Your Britain: Fight For It’ [№ 002] are instantaneously conjured in the mind when you mention political posters from the time. They were the perfect vehicle for spreading a message in a time of war, whether that be to improve national morale or encourage thriftiness, they invaded the public sphere and psyche in a way that other mediums can arguably not.

Susan Sontag sums up the directive of the poster perfectly ‘A poster aims to seduce, to exhort, to sell, to educate, to convince, to appeal.’5 As what is 5 Looking Closer. 3: Classic Writings on politics at the end of the day as the ultimate Graphic Design, ed. by Michael Bierut (New cattle market, the endeavour to sell your ideas York: Allworth Press, 1999), pp. 196–218. to the public. The existence of the political poster from the 1900s and its modern-day cousin; the

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1914 1945

Alfred Leete Abram Games

Lord Kitchener Wants You YOUR BRITAIN FIGHT FOR IT NOW

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social media post; have played a massive part in that notion of ‘selling’ an idea.

It can also be said that the advancement of mass media, in general, has made the wider public more aware of the visual, as Louis Peters wrote ‘television and cinema have heightened mans pictorial experience so that the printed word in politics has become secondary to the poster"6 Image has become 6 L.F. Peters and P. Chauvel, Kunst king, and the poster has a unique ability to Und Revolte: Das Politische Plakat confront the audience like no other platform.

Und Der Aufstand Der Französischen To a degree it’s unavoidable; people can turn Studenten, DuMont Aktuell (DuMont off the TV if they dislike the message, you Schauberg, 1968), p. 7. can choose to buy a Newspaper of a different political persuasion if you disagree with the story, but you cannot turn off the poster,7 Erwin Schockel 7 Gary Yanker, ‘THE POLITICAL POSTER: A sums this up perfectly "The printed word WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON’, World Affairs, 133.3 can be avoided at the outset by all those who (1970), 215–23. oppose the respective newspaper, book, or leaflet.

The radio can be turned off; the political meeting does not have to be attended. Even demonstrations and marches do not have to be successful in spite of the general curiosity of human beings. The poster is unique. Only the blind, the bedridden, and prisoners are not reached by it. Every other man that goes out on the street cannot exclude himself from the life around him. Thus all come in contact with posters."8 8 Erwin. Schockel, Das Politische This undeniable reach makes the poster Plakat : Eine Psychologische perfect for its role in politics.

Betrachtung (München: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, F. Eher Nachf., 1939), p. 150.

But what is the goal of the political poster? We are conditioned to instantly think of the propaganda posters of the Communists when we first think of political posters, and it’s a medium that the movement utilised incredibly effectively, with design movements like the ‘Organization of Solidarity with the People

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of Asia, Africa and Latin America’ in Cuba producing posters which they saw as a crucial tool in the people’s revolutionary struggles, to inform and educate,[№ 003 - 004]but would ridicule the campaigns of the bourgeois parties as a decadent capitalist ploy to 9 9 Galina Demosfenova, ‘sell’. Is a political poster a tool to educate, or Sovetski Politicheski Plakat, ed. by F. is it a tool of selling? These ideas framed an Kaloshina (Moscow: Iskustva Moskva ideological conflict within the Labour party.

Izdatestva, 1968), p. 14.

Deciding what makes a political poster successful is difficult and is more often than not ruled by someone’s political persuasion, there are countless guides and advisory manuals produced to guide parties with their designs, Michael Middleton produced ‘Soldiers of Lead: An introduction to layout and typography for use in the Labour Party’ in 1948 and Arno Scholz ‘Das Einmaleins Der Politische Werbung’ (‘The Multiplication Table Of Political Advertising’) in 1959, 003 004

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Alfrédo Rostgaard Rafael Enriquezs

Day of Solidarity with the Congo, 1972 Foreign Debt

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Scholz outlines nine points to consider while designing a political poster.10 10 Arno Scholz,

Das Einmaleins Der Politische Werbung (Berlin-Guenewald: Arani Verlag, 1959), p. 39.

1. ... put as little as possible on the poster [design or text].

2. Arrange design and lettering to attract the passerby's attention.

3. Consider where the poster will be hung or displayed.

4. Consider how effectively it will look next to other political posters.

5. Text and design must be large enough so that they can be seen from a prescribed distance, usually 10-15 meters [about 30-45 feet].

6. ... use harmonious color combinations.

7. ... use a modern art style.

8. Design and text must compliment each other.

9. The design should not detract from the impact of the words.

As discussed above, subjectivity is such a hard thing to enact, especially in an area so emotive as politics, these snippets of advice are fascinating in understanding the perspectives of the political parties and their creative goals, can these pieces of advice be used to frame what made a successful political poster?

As we can see there is a diverse history of political activism in the form of poster design, but how did the Labour Party in this period exploit and exhibit these ideas, to ‘sell’ or ‘educate’ their electorate.

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And Now - Win the Peace (1945)

The 1945 General Election is a seminal time in British History, set against the backdrop of the end of World War Two, as victory had been achieved in Europe, and the war was ending in Eastern Asia. The people were sent to vote for the first time in 10 years.

The Conservative Party went into the election buoyed

by Winston Churchill’s large scale personal popularity.

However, Labour came out victorious with 47.7% of the vote and a 145 seat majority over the Conservatives, As Laura Beers writes, it was an unexpected result by the parties and commentators alike.11 11 Laura Beers,

‘Labour’s Britain, Fight for It Now!’, The Historical Journal, 52.3 (2009), 667–95 (p. 667).

It would be simplistic to put this victory down to a poster, but it’s the influence of media that so often shifts the balance of an election, and in this campaign that perspective of the media was particularly unique. No party had been actively campaigning for the duration of the war and had been collaborating in a Government of National Unity, while in this coalition it was the Labour party that effectively utilised the tools of the media and their position in Government to their advantage. During their time in office, they set the scene for the radical policies that they aimed to enact if given the chance in power. As a party they sculpted their platform closely around the Government commissioned Beveridge Plan, which recommended the large scale reforms that created the Welfare state as we know it today, introducing the National Health Service, enacting Pension Reform and Rent Controls. As participants of Government they careful constructed the message of wide-ranging reforms and redevelopments of society, one of the most famous pieces of Government

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advertisement at the time was ‘Your Britain: Fight for it Now’ [№ 002] by Abram Games, illustrating wartorn scenes rejuvenated by futuristic redevelopments; like Finsbury Health Centre. This series was seen as 12 ‘Obituary: aggressively socialist by Winston Churchill,12 Abraham Games’, The Independent, closer to Labour propaganda than Government 1996 <http://www. messaging. independent.co.uk/ news/people/obituaryabraham-games-1311967. html> [accessed 28 March 2020].

From the outset of the General Election being called and in the strategizing of their position they set the tone of the debate as to the positive re-imagination of a society, rebuilt amid War, and within the media that the party actively commissioned the message was simple, create a better and ‘new’ society. That can be seen clearly in John Armstrong’s ‘AND NOW- WIN THE PEACE’. [№ 005] A looming ‘V’ for Victory which had become synonymous with the war effort, reimagined as a symbol for peace and to a heralding of a new age.

To further solidify this idea of renewal and rebuilding, the ‘V’ is to be found sitting amongst a picturesque scene of homes, one can assume a newly built estate, as we move out to the foreground a silhouette of modern flats, emblematic of Labours manifesto promise to build modern and new housing.13 The serene 13 ‘1945 Labour Party nature of the poster is fascinating if you then Manifesto’ <https:// web.archive.org/ align this with the copy ‘and now – the piece’ web/20130315015558/ http://www.labourthere is a real effort to encourage a new start, party.org.uk/ manifestos/1945/1945it speaks a language of new beginnings, ‘peace’ labour-manifesto. shtml> [accessed 23 and harmony, and further reiterates the ideas March 2020]. that were presented by the government within Abram Games’ work.

Alongside Armstrong’s poster, there were a further 14 designed by Daily Mirror Cartoonist and Labour supporter Philip Zec, these pieces further went to encourage the notion of renewal and aspiration. Zec’s

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John Armstrong

AND NOW - WIN THE PEACE

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LABOUR FOR HIM

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posters centre around individual beneficiaries of voting for Labour and what they could achieve by doing so.

The first of the series ‘Vote for Him’ [№ 006] was inspired by a letter sent to the Mirror by a wife saying ‘I shall vote for him,’ referring to her soldier husband and his aspirations for his return to Britain.14 The 14 John Gorman, ‘The Labour Party’s poster featured an image of a smiling ‘Tommy’ Election Posters in 1945.’, Labour soldier reminiscent of so many men who History Review (Maney Publishing), 61.3 had been sent to war, a similar aesthetic was (1996), 299–308 (p.

304). used in ‘Help them finish their job!’. [№ 011] There’s no doubt that the iconography used was as a direct appeal to women casting votes for their loved ones overseas, as Herbert Morrison; Deputy Leader of the Party and architect of the campaign wrote in his autobiography that the pieces ‘undoubtedly influenced large numbers of women, who had hitherto imagine that politics were of no importance to them, to think about them and to discuss the subject in their letters to their husbands and sons’15 This 15 H. Morrison, Herbert Morrison: An ability to enact personable change is where Autobiography (Odhams Press, 1960), p. 237 Zec’s illustrations came into their own, by constructing an image that people could empathise with.

Further to ‘Vote for Him’ & ‘Help them finish their job!’

Zec produced other similar posters. Highlighting a broad cross-section of society, and bases that Labour had to inspire if they wanted to win. ‘Labour for Her’, ‘Labour for Homes’, ‘Labour for Prosperity’ and ‘Labour for Security’ [№ 007-010] all highlighted individual elements of society and what could change for them. ‘Labour for Her’ focused on the elderly; promising pension reform. ‘Labour for Homes’ focused on housewives, eager to begin new lives with loved ones who were to return from overseas, ‘Labour for Prosperity’ focused on the more educated elements of

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1945 1945 1945 1945

Philip Philip Philip Philip

LABOUR LABOUR LABOUR LABOUR

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Zec Zec Zec Zec

FOR FOR FOR FOR

HER HOMES PROSPERITY SECURITY And Now - Win the Peace

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society, outside of the working class, an area in which they struggled with and ‘Labour for Security’ focused on boosting employment in the new economy that was to come. Zec’s posters proved popular, with the Party releasing a batch and quickly commissioning Zec to produce new designs in only 48 hours,16 it 16 Laura Beers, ‘Labour’s Britain, was an incredibly dynamic process, that was Fight for It Now!’, The Historical producing successful results.

Journal, 52.3 (2009) Zec’s Posters are equally aesthetically fascinating as they were the first in which that Red was widely used and associated with the Party on a national level.17 It’s important to note that this is of an age of great suspicion of Communism and Soviet Russia. It was a link that the Conservatives had heavily tried to implicate,18 but with little effect, and by 1945 it had; for the moment lost its gravitas 011

1945

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17 Martin Rosenbaum, From Soapbox to Soundbite: Party Political Campaigning in Britain since 1945 (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire : New York, N.Y: Macmillan ; St. Martin’s Press, 1997), pp. 201–2.

18 Laura Beers, ‘Labour’s Britain, Fight for It Now!’, The Historical Journal, 52.3 (2009), 667–95 (p. 687).

HELP THEM FINISH THEIR JOB!

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1945 1945

Philip Zec Philip Zec

LET’S BUILD THE HOUSES - QUICK! INDUSTRY MUST SERVE THE PEOPLE - NOT ENSLAVE THEM

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as a scaremongering tactic. Labour was unashamedly bold in their use of red, and it was something that became a key visual and ideological motif for the posters, becoming a defining factor of the visual culture of the party today. The use of repetition within the colour scheme, coupled with the bold and decisive typography; a heavy sans serif typeface, created a message that was easy to associate, unashamed in its ideas and gave it a cohesive edge over the Conservatives offer.

As I mentioned before, posters don’t necessarily win elections singularly, but they go a long way to percolate into society and influence opinion and inspire people to vote. Labour in 1945 tapped into an interesting visual narrative and public psyche. As I will go on to discuss in further Elections, campaigning and narratives within political posters become increasingly negative and controlled. Flyposting becomes illegal in 1947 and so the dynamic nature of consumption also changes after this point.19 Zec & Armstrong’s 19 ‘General Election 2010: The Power of work has an air of optimism and excitement Persuasion’, Express.

Co.Uk, 2010. for the future, never deriding the oppositions record or choices but challenging the public to trust in their vision. Even in the choice to commission Zec as a Cartoonist, someone who spends his time inspiring positivity in culture and Armstrong as a surrealist painter, arguably whose work is about challenging your perceptions and ideas of what is true. These choices, although maybe not intentional, created a melting pot that could only produce these pieces. In terms of my perspective as a Graphic Designer, the posters that I have been analysing for this election are extremely successful, they present a unified message and voice, and the tone is one of positivity, they achieve their goal in an as simple way as possible, and it sets the tone for

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this debate in an interesting way. Have we as Designers overcomplicated our message, have we as Political activists lost our way in producing content that is aspirational rather than confrontational. It’s interesting to start on this high note and see the aesthetic and messages shift over time.

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The Soldiers of Lead (1950)

Five years after Labours landslide victory in 1945 the public were sent back to the polls, against a backdrop that didn’t feel dissimilar to the one five years prior. Labour came out victorious with a larger share of the vote than they garnered in 1945,20 despite this, they lost 78 seats and emerged with a 20 ‘General Election Results 1885-1979’ slim five-seat majority, many Newspapers <http://www.election. demon.co.uk/geresults. and Political commentators noted that the html> [accessed 20 June 2020]. result was not ideal for the effective running of government, and another election seemed almost a certainty.

The election took place in a nation still convalescing from the war, with policies like rationing were still in place. However, by 1950 the Labour Government had enacted large amounts of the sweeping reforms it had promised in its 1945 manifesto. Between 1945 and 1950 the Labour Government passed the National Health Service Act, creating the NHS as a free at point of access health care service, also the New Towns Act which created 12 new towns to alleviate the issue of overcrowding, and tied into the parties pledge to build 200,000 new council homes.

Alongside these initiatives was the large scale process of Nationalisation; bringing the steel, coal, gas, iron and railway industries into public ownership in an attempt to create jobs, and stimulate the economy. These alongside many other social reforms were passed on an unprecedented level and in the run-up to this election Labour posed itself as ‘the party of positive 21 ‘1950 Labour Party Manifesto’ action, of constructive progress, the true party <http://www.labourparty.org.uk/ of the nation’21 hyping up their credentials as manifestos/1950/1950labour-manifesto. a force that had produced positive change in shtml> [accessed 23 March 2020]

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society. To this end, Herbert Morrison the mastermind of the victorious 1945 election wanted to avoid specific policy commitments, but focus on how socialism had Fielding, been a positive influence on electors’ lives.22

22 Steven.

Nick. Tiratsoo, and Peter. Thompson, ‘England Arise!’ : The Labour Party and Popular Politics in 1940s Britain (Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press, 1995), pp.

176–78.

It was these ideas of ‘positive action’ and ‘constructive progress’ that formed the crux of the message that Labour projected in their posters, ‘Remember? Don’t give the Tories another chance’ [№ 014] asks the reader to look back and ‘remember’ the high levels of unemployment under the Conservatives in the 1930s, and to not ‘give them another chance’ at repeating this, the poster illustrates the Jarrow Marchers of 1936, they utilised the imagery as an allegory for the Conservatives opinion on the average worker. Looking back to the past is also present in the ‘They remember and they’re voting Labour’, [№ 018] it depicts an elderly couple, although not explicitly clear what they are remembering, In the spirit of the campaign we imagine it’s a comment on pre-war unemployment; a key feature in the manifesto. Labour leaned heavily into the idea that voters, particularly those of the workingclasses would not forget the hardships they struggled in the inter-war period and the progress that Labour had made post-war, this method of communication is summed up as a wider trend by Christopher Burgess, "After 1945, campaigning became quite negative, If you're in government, you can attack the opposition for what they're going to do or you hark back to a period people remember. If you're in opposition, you 23 ‘General Election can attack someone for their record."23 Labour 2010: The Power of Persuasion’, Express. exhibited this idea throughout their posters in Co.Uk, 2010. this election.

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Unknown

Remember? Don't give the Tories another chance.

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As well as concentrating on the past failings of the Conservatives, Labour was keen to highlight the advancements in society that their policies had facilitated, central to this was the founding of the NHS; one of the key pledges of the Beveridge Report, and something they were incredibly proud of achieving, as one poster documents ‘Labours Health Service covers everyone’ [№ 016] as the poster points out the ‘Tories voted against it’, this idea plays into the notion that Burgess alludes to of trashing your opponent becoming prevalent in this election, in Labours position they seem to be using the negative connotations of the past to highlight the advancements that they had made and the benefits of socialism; these polarising political methodologies creates the narrative of 'Don’t let us go back to an unsuccessful past that the one ideology has created, let’s continue on the prosperous path that we have created.'

We can also look at the communities that are depicted in the posters, in 1945 they depicted the ‘Tommy’ returning from War, a universally recognised parable, that resonated with the idea of renewal, and the need to find service personnel jobs. In 1950 this set of depictions shifted to a more domestic appearance, with housewives, neighbours and children becoming the focus. Interestingly there is no distinction between the working class and the rich, a catch-all attitude to voters, that appealed to Morrisons attempt to attract the people that had seen that socialist 24 Christopher Burgess, ‘From the policies had positively influenced their Political Pipe to Devil Eyes: A History lives. Alongside this as Burgess writes, this of the British Election Poster from depiction of the public added an element of 1910-1997’, PQDT - UK & Ireland (unpublished realism and relatability to the posters, Labour Ph.D., The University of Nottingham (United was projecting an image of the public back Kingdom), 2014), p.

106, at themselves.24 This idea that you could

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1950 1950 1950 1950

Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown

You wouldn't put out a government which has done so much for us?

Remember? Don't give the Tories another chance.

They remember - and they're voting Labour A million new homes thanks to Labour

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1950 1950 1950 1950

Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown

Labour's Health Service covers everyone.

The Good Neighbour - Votes Labour His Future - Your Vote!

Labour see that you get these.

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emulate what people were seeing on billboard speaks to ideas of aspiration and similarly empathy, the idea that you can see yourself within an ideology works to the notion of moulding an electorate into an image in which you want it to take. Using photography to imbue these ideas of reflection gave Labours posters a superior edge to that of the Conservatives, giving them professionalism and cohesion, but also a relatability that although illustration had done a good job with in the past, couldn’t be matched any more. The aesthetic success of photography shifted imagery within advertising and by the 1950s illustration was a dying form, it was the more relatable photo that was 25 Christopher Burgess, ‘Picturing on the rise.25

Politics’, Picturing Politics <https:// picturingpolitics. wordpress.com/tag/ posters/> [accessed 20 June 2020].

A further observation of the 1945 campaign is the attempt by the Labour party to become a design-savvy organisation, recognising the financial might of the Conservatives and their ability to outsource their campaigns to advertising agencies.

Labour recognised that with their limited resources to counter this it would be wise to become more aesthetically savvy, as Harriet Atkinson writes ‘The post-war Labour Party was itself aware of the impact of typography and lettering. It had been casting around a new look after the Second World War when in 1948 the Party commissioned typographer Michael Middleton to write ‘Soldiers of Lead: An introduction to layout and typography for use in the Labour Party’ This acknowledged that Labour could become more successful if they thought harder about how 26 Harriet Atkinson and Mary Banham, The to unify their look.26 Middleton himself had Festival of Britain: A Land and Its People written prior that ‘Labour Party printing has (London ; New York : New York: I.B.Tauris in the main been neither functionally nor & Co. ; Distributed in the United States aesthetically satisfactory’ and pitched that ‘a

by Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), p. 133. degree of standardization of typography in

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Labour's Health Service covers everyone.

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Labour publicity; a ‘unity of style’ a ‘general 27 Michael Middleton, Soldiers of Lead, an raising of the quality of the movement’s Introduction to Layout and Typography for Use printing’27 would help its fortunes. It was clear in the Labour Party.

(London, 1948), p. 3. to the Party that while they couldn’t afford a design agency to produce a campaign, coupled with the suspicion by many people on the left of 28 Dominic Wring, The Politics of the party of the advertising industry;28 If you Marketing the Labour Party (Houndmills, employed the same nous and understanding Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York: of a unified message and aesthetic, those Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), p. 46. big design agencies brought, in their smaller more anonymous local offices and internal design departments they would be able to produce a campaign with a similar element of professionalism.

There is an argument that the ‘DIY’ charm of the Labour produced posters gave them a personable edge in the design war against the more slick, polished and maybe rather cold Conservative campaigns.

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Work for all... thanks to Labour Healthy thanks to Labour

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This effort to unify look and message is evident in 1950 and the campaign marks an evolution of Philip Zec’s series of posters, a singular language with tone of voice, typography, illustration and colour scheme, with the ability to tailor the message to the layout, rather than having a multitude of different styles and designs.

We can see this used in the 1950 literature to great effect, although we can argue that this unification is maybe not as successfully as 1945, feeling at times a bit forced. In the areas it was utilised well; colour and illustration, it highlighted how, as Middleton claimed, that a campaign that had ‘brevity’ and ‘unity’ could be 29 29 Michael Middleton, ‘rammed home’ to voters’ more succinctly Soldiers of Lead, an Introduction to Layout and memorably.

and Typography for Use in the Labour Party.

(London, 1948), p. 25.

1950 can be defined as the period in which Labour awoke to the importance of design theory and the importance of a unified message. Visual and Artistic Culture were on the rise, you have the Festival of Britain within this point promoting Britain as a creative culture, and these ideas are replicated in the quick advancement of visual culture within Politics, arguably more people were becoming aware of the influence of the visual. In combination with this, we have the combative nature of politics, although these ideas have soured our interactions with politics in the modern-day, the idea that you don’t have to just sell an idea, but also show why the other idea is bad, influences politics for years to come. Labour in 1945 and 1950 was successful in highlighting their 30 Christopher successes of government, without needing Burgess, ‘From the Political Pipe to to sell socialism, and as Burgess writes, they Devil Eyes: A History of the British indubitably made no specific promise about Election Poster from 1910-1997’, PQDT - UK socialist policy in 1950,30 it was all about & Ireland (unpublished Ph.D., The University remembering how bad the past had been. of Nottingham (United Kingdom), 2014), p.

Although I’m keen to not put a large amount 100,

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of onus on the success of the posters and the relative success of the parties, 1945 & 1950 mark a zenith in the party in terms of messaging and electoral success, and I think in recognising the importance of visual narratives helped them capitalise on that success.

There is a lot written about the declining importance of posters in this period, with Jon Lawrence highlighting the diminishing use of them in 1950 campaign,31 but without these advancements, the 31 Jon Lawrence, Electing Our Masters: Conservatives wouldn’t have upped their game The Hustings in British Politics for the coming elections, and maybe we would from Hogarth to Blair (Oxford : New York: exist in a very different party political aesthetic Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 140. world without 1950 and the Soldiers of Lead.

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For Radical Reform (1951)

It was little over a year after the 1950 Election that the public was asked to return to the polls and vote again. Although 1950 had seen Labour defeat the Conservatives, they had a slender majority. Amid an upcoming Commonwealth Tour in 1952 King George VI was concerned of a change of Government in his absence, to this end, Clement Attlee called an election for 1951 to sure up his parties position within Government. By this point, Labour had implemented most of its policy commitments from 1945 and there was maybe an air of ‘staleness’, around government and its ability to make changes. Come to the election, Labour polled the highest, taking 48.8% of the vote and breaking the record for the most votes achieved by a political party in the UK along the way.32 32 ‘General Election Results 1885-1979’ Despite this resounding victory, or at least <http://www.election. demon.co.uk/geresults. that’s what the numbers would lead you to html> [accessed 20 June 2020]. believe, it was the Conservatives for the first time since 1935 and the onset of the War who came out as the winners, gaining 23 seats and a 10 seat majority, with the First-Past-the-Post system concentrating the Labour vote in safer areas, it was the Conservatives who dealt the decisive blow.

But the 1951 campaign for Labour can be summarised by its large scale similarity to the 1950 campaign, the political message remained largely similar, in their manifesto they set out to ‘secure peace; to maintain full employment and increase production; 33 ‘1951 Labour Party to bring down the cost of living; to build a Manifesto’ <https:// web.archive.org/ just society.33 The campaign relied heavily web/20170504061149/ http://www. on Labours record over the six years in politicsresources.net/ area/uk/man/lab51.htm> government and their perceived successes, [accessed 23 March 2020].

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alongside utilising a similar tactic from 1950, asking voters to remember the ‘dark past’ & ‘bitter memories’34 of the pre-war Conservative 34 ‘1951 Labour Party Manifesto’ <https:// web.archive.org/ governments especially in terms of prosperity web/20170504061149/ http://www. and employment.

politicsresources.net/ area/uk/man/lab51.htm> [accessed 23 March 2020].

We can see Labour’s manifesto claims quite clearly in the election propaganda, and instantly we can see the echoes of prior campaigns, ‘The Good Neighbour – Votes Labour’ is a sentiment repeated in 1950, engaging in similar notions of fulfilling a civic duty by voting Labour. Although, whereas in 1950 Herbert Morrison had engaged in a campaign to sell socialism as a means that could help the people, largely ignoring the more radical elements of the manifesto in their campaign literature, in 1951 Labour was a lot more blatant in selling their traditional Socialist ideology; ‘End the profit ramp – Vote Labour’ [№ 028] and ‘Declare War on the profiteers – Vote Labour’ [№ 016] stand out as combative ideas against the Conservative ideas of capitalism, gone was the idea that people would be turned off by socialism or grand ideas. The ostentatious statement ‘For Radical reform - Vote Labour’ [№ 025] sums up the ideology.

These ideas are exciting, but maybe Herbert Morrison was right in 1945, sell the ideas to the people in a way that they can understand. Often 1951 doesn’t feel as personable or honest as prior campaigns have done, and maybe that links to the oppressive nature of the aesthetic. The problem that Labour had in selling itself is that by this point the Conservatives had come to terms with Labours post-war reforms, and actively campaigned to keep them, radical socialist ideas were Labours way of cutting through the crowd.

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High profits for big business. High prices for housewives

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Despite the similarity in terms of manifesto commitments, the aesthetic of the campaign took a massive turn, In the 1950 election Labour had gone to great lengths in an attempt to standardise their aesthetic, and creating a small in-house Design team within the Labour Central office was a way in which they made an effort post-1945 to improve the 35 Christopher effectiveness of the party’s design output35 Burgess, ‘From the Political Pipe to But in this election, it seems that the team Devil Eyes: A History went against their remit and abandoned the of the British Election Poster from 1910-1997’, PQDT - UK aesthetic that had been so confident in the & Ireland (unpublished Ph.D., The University 1945 and 1950 elections; the strong bold of Nottingham (United Kingdom), 2014), p. typography the confident use of photography 98, or illustration and the striking contrast between colours.

Even after the publishing of Soldiers of Lead and recommending that typefaces like Gill Extra Heavy, 025 026

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For Radical reform Tories would - Slash subsidies and push prices up

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027 028 029 030

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Keep the Peace Keep Labour at Westminster Declare war on the profiteers It's never happened before - six years of full employment End the profit ramp

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Give Labour security in the House to give you security in the Home Use it for peace Troies - profits for the few Labour profits everybody We can't afford a Tory Government

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The Good Neighbour Votes Labour

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Karnack, Beton, Rockwell, Gothic Condensed, Playbill, 36 36 Michael Middleton, and Ultra Bodoni were used, the Labour Soldiers of Lead, an Internal Design team showed maybe their Introduction to Layout and Typography for Use in the Labour Party. fallacy of naivety, by ignoring their own (London, 1948), p. 13. advice in choosing a decorative ‘brush style’ typeface for the campaign, a choice far removed from the Humanist and Slab Serifs that Middleton recommended for party members to use. Another design feature that the Labour party designers had recommended for success was the use of contrast of 37 Peter Harle, colour, Black ink on yellow paper,37 for example, ‘Designing a Poster’, Labour Organiser, a feature that we see to some extent in 1950, 28.331 (1949), 12–13. but by 1951 this recommendation is completely turned on its head and we move to Yellow, Red and Blue typography on a Black background, an aesthetic that while striking, is domineering and imposing, not necessarily strong and decisive, as well as not being entirely legible. It’s evident that while Labour was keen to set their house in order in terms of design theory, at the second time of asking the fragility of the process was highlighted and it seems the cohesion falls away.

As we analyse each aesthetic decision against the purpose of these posters it paints a picture of failure; the choice of typography in its role of being a clear vessel to deliver a message fails on the count of it being inappropriate to the context, The choice of colour scheme and imagery; to create a poster that is engaging and inspiring, fails on the count of it being illegible, the lack of imagery; uninspiring, in comparison to what we have seen before. But while it’s easy to discuss the relative design failings of the posters, where there are ‘failures’ there are successes, this is the first time within this period that there is a truly cohesive and unified aesthetic within a campaign, the key takeaway that Middleton wanted to impart

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within the party. Each poster compliments the other and exists within the same world, something that Labour had alluded to in 1945 and 1950, but had never achieved to this extent, and although the rules set out by Middleton and other Labour designers weren’t followed in the larger sense, we see elements of it making its way through, the use of ‘Gill Extra Heavy’ within the ‘Vote Labour’ motif and the use of strong colours; blacks, yellows and reds. It shows that a thought process on the aesthetic was happening all the time, and a concerted effort went along with that, but the final pulling together of ideas and theories sometimes missed the mark.

There is also an argument that we can put the aesthetic simplicity of the campaign links to popular design theory, As Burgess comments, Jan Tschichold, the Bauhaus typographer said ‘The aim of typography was communication’ and ‘Communication must appear in the shortest, most penetrating form.’38 It 38 Richard Hollis, Graphic Design : A could be argued that the campaign and it’s Concise History, 2016, p. 55. brevity within its style was attempting to the channel this ideology to get the message across in the simplest most easily digestible way, as similarly advocated by Middleton. The actual campaign was incredibly short and unexpected; Labour suffered in this quick turn around with missing out on locations to 39 Christopher advertise.39 So maybe we can glean that the Burgess, ‘From the aesthetic shift was an artistic response to the Political Pipe to Devil Eyes: A History limitations of the campaign, there was no time of the British Election Poster from to come up with a creative campaign, so stick 1910-1997’, PQDT - UK & Ireland (unpublished with what has suited you well for six years, and Ph.D., The University of Nottingham (United apply with a design theory to hammer that Kingdom), 2014), p.

102, message home. What we can forget within this campaign is that while Labour lost, and we can easily attribute that to the design choices of the campaign

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and its departure from the rules that were put in place, Labour did win the popular vote, although as we have said before posters don’t win elections, but they echo and interact with public perception. Despite my misgivings of this campaign, maybe the lack of overt traditional design sensibilities; the friendly, honest nature of the brush font, the simplicity of its message, resonated more than I can appreciate.

In conclusion, 1951 is a campaign that lives in an element of obscurity, in both terms of message and aesthetic, but it asks interesting questions of the importance of design and the importance of a cohesive message, if you look at it alongside 1945 and 1950, you are left wanting, but in isolation, we can see ideas of a campaign that is being experimental and playful in its design. I think on this occasion it’s the messaging that let Labour down, it’s difficult to talk of aspiration and development when you have nothing left to advance, and when the other side has cottoned on, Labour wasn’t quick enough to develop their message, and the message they did develop didn’t sit well aesthetically in what they produced.

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Send Attlee!

(1955)

1955 marked 10 years since the end of World War Two and the fourth election in that time frame.

The Conservatives went into the election under a new leader in Anthony Eden who had taken over from Winston Churchill a few months prior. With Labour heading into its 5 election under Clement Attlee, and the 20th year of his leadership. It marked a beginning of the end of the old world order of UK politics and the grandees who had guided Britain through the war. The election was occurring in an age of relative tranquillity, the UK had largely recovered from the war and there was little change in the nation. The election was largely uneventful, leading to one journalist to describe it as ‘the lull before the lull’40 This lack of dynamism 40 Glen. Segell, Electronic Democracy and controversy suited the Conservatives and and the 1997 UK General Elections they were easily returned, whereas they had (London: G. Segell, 1997), p. 76. just got over the line in 1951, they consolidated their position by gaining 23 seats, and finally winning a plurality of the popular vote too.41 For Labour 41 ‘General Election Results 1885-1979’ the election came at a time of infighting <http://www.election. demon.co.uk/geresults. between two factions of the party, The ‘Right’- html> [accessed 20 June 2020]. wing Gaitskelites and the Left-wing Bevenites, whereas the Conservatives had made an effort to change their leadership and their ideas, adapting with public opinion, Labour felt stuck in the past; muddled, confused and largely irrelevant – the radical socialist ideas that had inspired the nation 10 years prior weren’t landing in the same way.

Labours infighting and confusion was evident in the manifesto it produced, ‘Forward with Labour’; the main cornerstone of their campaign was the worsening tensions during the Cold War, ‘As we in

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Britain prepare to go to the poll, the Hydrogen Bomb 42 ‘British looms over all mankind’42 Disarmament was Labour Party central and would have been a key policy issue Election Manifesto, 1955 [Archive]’, 2017 <https:// for the leftist Bevanites, this influence by the web.archive.org/ web/20170509104421/ left fed directly into the narrative that the http://www.

Conservatives wanted to paint of a Labour politicsresources. net/area/uk/man/lab55. htm> [accessed 28 June administration being hijacked by a Leftist or 2020]. more significantly to the period; Communist 43 Glen. Segell, constituent of the party.43 What Labour was Electronic Democracy and the 1997 UK more likely trying to achieve by focusing on General Elections (London: G. Segell, this policy was the experience that Attlee had 1997) garnered in 20 years of leadership of the party, in a similar way to the Conservatives and their use of Churchill 10 years prior.

This focus on Attlee is fascinating, and emanates within the campaign material, reminiscent of an almost presidential campaign, ‘Vote Attlee’ [№ 036] features a photo of Attlee, himself someone who usually shied away from the limelight, he is pictured sat calmly holding a pipe amongst a bold use of typography – ‘The Rt. Hon’, emblazons the poster showing his titles, and hints at his experience, flanked by ‘Vote Attlee’ in a heavy sans serif typeface, no mention made of his party allegiance, but focusing on the man, in the same way as an American style presidential poster; Labour was asking the public to put their trust in one man.

44 Christopher As similarly noted by Burgess, this display of Burgess, ‘Picturing Politics’, Picturing Attlee was meant to present the image of a Politics <https:// picturingpolitics. ‘genial, trustworthy statesman.’44 It’s a bold wordpress.com/tag/ posters/> [accessed 20 statement to put your leader front and centre, June 2020]. especially one who was never about the pomp 45 John Bew, ‘A Sheep in Sheep’s Clothing and bravado; ‘a sheep in sheep’s clothing’45 | Origins: Current Events in Historical as Churchill had unflatteringly referred to him Perspective’ <http:// origins.osu.edu/ years before, over your policy statements. review/sheep-sheep-sclothing> [accessed 4 But a further takeaway from the aesthetic of June 2020].

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the ‘Vote Attlee’ poster and the use of photography of Attlee is that it departs from something that the Labour Party had been particularly successful within their earlier campaigns, their posters had a real strength in the use of imagery, particularly that of ‘real’ people, that aspirational reflection plays very much into the ‘ethos’ of the Labour Party, being the party that was birthed from the workers, the average person, what this poster does is the exact opposite, it presents Labour as the party of the establishment, that the focus of the election was not of the advancements that it could make for the people, but that of one individual.

So in choosing to headline with Attlee, with no mention of the party or aspiration is interesting, but also confusing, it speaks volumes of the turmoil within the party, to detract from division, it presented itself as an entity that wasn’t necessarily interested in the people.

The ‘Vote Attlee’ poster is fascinating in its focal point of the campaign, but also in its departure largely from the narrative and aesthetic of the rest of the 1955 Election. We can split the remaining posters into two sections; the promises; Labours manifesto commitments, and the criticisms; Labour rubbishing the Conservative record within Government and the effectiveness of their philosophy. Within the Labour promises section we see a renewed commitment to ‘high-level talks’ aimed at disarmament, ‘Top-Level talks – Send Attlee! Vote Labour’ [№ 043] doubles down on Attlee’s ability as Prime Minister in a quest for peace. The words ominously featured in front of an illustration of a mushroom cloud. Further promises of ‘Better Schools with Labour’ [№ 041] emblazoned on a chalkboard and ‘Abolish the Tax on Sport’ [№ 042] featuring amongst the dynamic image of someone playing sport. These sentiments make up a message

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Vote Attlee/You Can Trust Mr. Attlee

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Record High Prices. Toryism doesn't work.

What price Tea? Toryism doesn't work.

Mills Closing Down. Toryism doesn't work.

Pensioners Hard Up! Toryism doesn't work.

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that was largely anonymous and indecisive. We again see paired with these messages a typographic style that is worlds away from Middleton’s ‘Soldiers of Lead’ and more in keeping with the 1951 brush script, although this time in a slightly heavier weight. When we look at the criticisms section we see a further miss-match of typographic styles, ‘What price tea?’, ‘Pensioners hard up!’, ‘Mills Closing Down’ & ‘Record High Prices! [№ 037-40] make up the attempt by the party to discredit the effectiveness of the Government in the preceding 5 years, while utilising the similar brush typography that we see in the earlier work, but they are all flanked with a strong resounding claim ‘Toryism doesn’t work’ depicted in a stencil style serif font, ‘Vote Labour’ tags the poster in a small patch.

The three styles of poster come together to create an interesting yet largely confused set of messaging. An interesting observation is the colour scheme, which largely returns to the advice given in 1950, strong bold colours are used across the campaign, striking yellows and blues and abstract patterns featured on the criticism posters, whereas on the promises posters, red and green are prominent features, this cohesion creates a narrative that allows the reader to garner a subliminal connotation with the message.

Within my research, I’ve been particularly interested in trying to understand the aesthetic choices of the campaign, within the 1950s the use of the brush script is something that on face value doesn’t make a large amount of sense, it wasn’t at first glance a particularly popular design trend, but in the context of politics maybe we can argue there is an interesting idea around ‘DIY’ culture, handwriting or brush stroke can feel more humane, it can speak a language that is more conversational and less authoritative than the Gill Sans

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of past. What is of further interest in Labours 1950 campaign is that as well as this use of ‘humane’ brush strokes, we can see a sort of Matisse style cut and paste element to the designs. We can see the ‘Labour’ element of the poster with a slight ripped edge, but what is interesting is the similarly ripped ‘Toryism doesn’t work’ section feels like it was taken directly from the Conservatives 1955 posters, in which they also used a stencil style font, we can debate the use of hijacking a style to subvert the message and aesthetic of the other party, but it can also link to ideas of political activism, ‘DIY’ banners and personal activism, to counter the ideas of a big political force.

As we reach the end of this period we can see a party that has maybe lost its way in terms of its messaging and aesthetic, debilitated by infighting and irrelevant through stagnation. But despite these outward 041 042

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Better Schools with Labour Abolish the Tax on Sport vote Labour

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Top Level Talks - Send Attlee!

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elements of failing, both as a unit and electorally, you can see elements of an understanding of visual style and the seeds to how we see political advertising and the largescale campaigns that come with it today.

As we analyse 1955 for its design acumen we can acknowledge that the message was muddled and ineffective, focusing on Attlee as a leader is a visual that may have inspired confidence, but not aspiration, which I think is a key element of their design successes in 1945 and 1950. Outside of the Attlee poster however I think the ‘criticisms’ and ‘promises’ posters build on the foundations that have been established by Middleton, and although within a modern context they may not sit as glowing examples of Swiss Modernist style design, through their humanist typographic style, there friendly use of Matisse style cut-outs they represent an honest attempt to formulate a language and translate a message that is relatable to the people.

It’s also important to look at these elections in terms of context, it’s said that by 1955 the poster and printed ephemera were becoming less and less important, increasingly elections were being fought on the TV and Radio,46 and so we can argue that plays a 46 Lewis Baston, ‘1955 – an Increased large role in why they maybe aren’t the most Conservative Majority, Followed by amazing pieces of design, it was more about Turbulent, Passionate Times’, Conservative constructing a whole message, both on paper Home <https://www. conservativehome.com/ and on-air, much more as we see it now. But thecolumnists/2015/08/ lewis-bastonthe physical existence of these pieces is a 1955-an-increasedconservative-majoritystimulating window into design theory and followed-by-turbulentpassionate-times.html> the evolution of design within politics that is [accessed 28 June 2020]. quite evident in this period. Yes, 1955 isn’t the best collection in my opinion, but in being so far from 1945 it asks many questions of messaging and design trends that it possibly makes it one of the most thought-provoking sets of the period.

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Analysis

Graphic Design is a subjective endeavour, what I may see as a compelling piece of design, others may see as garbage, and it’s a sentiment that is echoed across the art world and into the perception of the general public, and so producing this piece of work is difficult without pouring too much of my own bias into it and not challenging that. So to negate that effect I was keen to, out of the context of the elections and the case studies, analyse the posters again, utilising Arno Scholz’s 9 features of a good political poster,47 as a reference point for how these pieces work.

47 Arno Scholz, Das Einmaleins Der Politische Werbung Alongside this, I wanted to bring in another (Berlin-Guenewald: design perspective, and objective perspective Arani Verlag, 1959), p. 39. to analyse things in a different light to me, to do that I interviewed designer and educator Sheena Calvert, her work investigates the intersections of materiality and philosophy in language,48 48 ‘Profile: Sheena Calvert: : Design alongside this being a book designer and Oabserver’ <https:// designobserver. typographer she has an intimate knowledge com/profile/ sheenacalvert/19869/> with materiality and message, key standpoints [accessed 5 July 2020]. of the political poster and although she is someone who I have a personal working relationship with, I value her opinion to probe and question perspectives of the work and time frame that I had maybe not seen, and re-educate my positions.

The posters from 1945 are some of the best in this period from my design perspective, taking ‘And Now – Win the Peace’ [№ 005] and putting it up against Scholz’s barometer it works on multiple levels, it’s the element of aspiration that made it stand out next to other political posters, which just focused on Winston Churchill. The design and text complement one another, neither detract from each other’s job

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and they guide a narrative journey. The work borrows from the sentiment that was displayed within Abram Games’ work, and as Sheena and I discussed, it’s ‘honest’ design, imbued with social justice and 49 Sheena Calvert, reason,49 it asks the reader to spend a little Interview by Amir Saidani, 2020 more time to get to know it and its message <https://rca.cloud. but it's one that hammers home when it does. panopto.eu/Panopto/ Pages/Viewer. aspx?id=c27b5d17Phillip Zec’s work is the perfect complement 4115-4a8a-95c8abed00a32236>. to Armstrong’s poster, where his works with its subtlety in visual language, Zec’s is brash and unashamed in its ambition for the future, as Scholz points out, typography is key and it has to be read from afar, the typographic style of Zec does just that, it shouts at the reader, and in a time of uncertainty there is an element of comfort in brash design, the illustrative visual style is something that the public would have been comfortable with, and as a vessel for a message Labour tapped into our base instinct, to vote for a better life prospect for our loved ones. The best design is ephemeral, and as Sheena pointed out in our discussion, if this poster was repeated today, it might not have the same success, because we don’t sit down and look at posters in the same way, we are constantly bombarded with visual imagery; these posters are slow, and allow you to take in that message, in the ilk of Scholz, put as little as possible on the poster, and your message will be easier to digest. That is what 1945 does in its designs well, it allows the reader to take in, and be inspired.

The 1950 poster follows in a similar vein, as a design evolution of what was produced in 1945, but with less decisiveness, and more anonymity within the design.

But again holding these pieces to Scholz judgements of a good poster we largely see overlap, harmonious (yet contrasting) colour combination is the cornerstone

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to 1950s posters. As Sheena points at these posters were utilitarian in production and style,50 in 50 Sheena Calvert, an age where great excess wasn’t available Interview by Amir Saidani, 2020 or appropriate, it speaks of humility in their <https://rca.cloud. panopto.eu/Panopto/ ideas and their message. Another element of Pages/Viewer. aspx?id=c27b5d171950 in which we discussed and that I hadn’t 4115-4a8a-95c8abed00a32236>. considered in my analysis of the posters, is the context of design trends, but in a very benign way, I analysed Michael Middleton’s ‘Soldiers of Lead’ as a gold standard for Labour design, but this would have been a very contemporary bit of advice, the utilisation of Gill; which would have been a fairly new font, exists in the same way in which we as designers work now, keeping up with the up-to-date font choices, and utilising it in work. So it’s easy to acknowledge that they followed Scholz's rules in terms of using a ‘modern art style’, and this element of ‘trendy design’ doesn’t end there, the use of Photography comes into this as well, being the first to use photography in their posters, leaving behind the traditional illustrated style.

We can look at 1950 and say, although the designs were all anonymous in terms of who produced them, there is an interesting idea of play, being contemporary within that experimentation. We see the Conservatives as controlled, and these posters speak to how Labour may have been viewed, as ‘DIY’ but innovative in the way they used their limitations. In the same way, as 1945, aspiration and reflection is an important theme, people were possibly brought in because they were inspired, they could also see themselves in that aspiration and innovation.

1951 is where the aesthetic shifted for me, it moves away from these very cliched ideas of World War Two propaganda, and moves into a more nuanced world of poster design. I’m very harsh in my analysis of 1951,

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especially from a contemporary viewpoint, and I think in terms of Scholz's view of political poster design, they would also be faulted, they don’t use harmonious colour combinations, they aren’t necessarily the most legible pieces either, the design and text don’t go together; because the design itself relies heavily on the text, which is a brush style typeface and there is no photography or illustration, you are requiring the text to do a lot of work, and it’s not as dynamic as the typeheavy letterpress posters that would have existed in the early 1900s. But as Sheena and I discussed, there is an element of modernity that I’ve overlooked, in a similar way to Gill Sans being the trendy typeface of the 40s, as so brush script came to its zenith in the 51 Sheena Calvert, 50s,51 and as design pieces, they may not speak Interview by Amir Saidani, 2020 to me, but as the language of 1945 and 1950 <https://rca.cloud. spoke of admiration, 1951 uses its graphic style panopto.eu/Panopto/ Pages/Viewer. aspx?id=c27b5d17to speak a more informal language, away from 4115-4a8a-95c8abed00a32236>. the rigid governmental Gill Sans, and more into a trusting space. Another design point is a comment on the informal nature of design, although people like Middleton spent time trying to drill an aesthetic into the party, that charm of a designer on one particular day choosing a brush font is what makes these designs so nuanced, you can have a rigid design language, but it’s about how a particular designer is trying to make that message heard, and so although I think these posters are overly oppressive and don’t share the enthusiasm of the past, there is an interesting design question to be had in, how important are rigid design rules, what about just talking to people simply, dealing with the parameters and the limitations that may surround you, is that the best way to design?

By 1955 we see a complete change in the aesthetic from where we start in 1945, as a piece of design the

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‘Vote Attlee’ [№ 036] poster goes very much against Scholz’s rules of political design, and it verges into a very authoritative style of design, there is no aspiration in the visual. But as Sheena and I discussed, the homage to Attlee in this large colour image would have been seen as a sign of pride,52 as an impressive piece of printing. Every other piece of design from 1955 is seen surrounding the Attlee poster, dwarfed by its 52 Sheena Calvert, Interview by Amir size. Using Scholz’s rules I’m still not convinced Saidani, 2020 <https://rca.cloud. that this message makes sense; that adulation panopto.eu/Panopto/ Pages/Viewer. was inspiring, of confidence or decisiveness. aspx?id=c27b5d174115-4a8a-95c8But in the further posters there are lessons in abed00a32236>. how they sit with our reference points, the criticisms and promises set of posters as I referred to them in the case study follow a similar aesthetic to 1951, the use of brush type, attempting to bring it’s tone down, to talk to the people, and where these posters are successful in our barometer, is the use of harmonious colour, the design and text complement each other, they are legible, if not at times a bit outlandish. So we see that although these idealistic opinions of design may have gone, we are moving to an area in which these designs are shifting to meet their audience, not follow the rules that the party may have imposed. Simplistic visuals are king in this election, and although the Attlee poster dominates the proceedings, it’s the other simplistic posters that as pieces show interesting elements of where design and political thinking was at the time. But it’s important, and I will cover more of this within my conclusion, to not conflate the two worlds of political ideology and design choice, there are links there, but sometimes a design choice was made because that felt like the right thing to do, and the humanist element of Labour posters throughout this period is one of their biggest charms.

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I set out without a specific question in mind, but a curiosity in what I could learn to change the way I think about design particularly in the current climate.

Britain, as well as Labour, was going through large amounts of change in this period. As the nation was remade, we can see those changes through the posters, not only through the revolutionary messaging, like ‘And now - win the peace’ and ‘Top Level Talks – Send Attlee’ but also in the change in aesthetic exhibited in society. Designers were dynamically experimenting to create outcomes that inspired change.

That idea of ‘making a difference’ is something that struck me within this research, the designers were having fun, it was something they believed in. Diehard socialists like Philip Zec and the designers within Labour HQ put their heart into these messages. I believe this element of belief is what produced the largely humane, personable design that we see in this study, it at times wasn’t the most polished, but by necessity and ingenuity they often struck gold, as Dominic Wring points out ‘Labours comparative poverty meant its organisers came up with all the more ingenious and novel approaches to 53 Dominic Wring, electioneering’.53 The Politics of

Marketing the Labour Party (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)

I’ve encountered these ideas of humanity and belief coupled with ingenuity in my practice and seen spoken by other designers, Michael Beirut, the designer of Hilary Clinton's 2016 Presidential Campaign spoke of his failings in creating something that wasn’t personable and couldn’t be related to with personal passion, in comparison to the Pussyhats

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used in protest against Donald Trump,54 their existence is from a personal passion, creativity and activism that is imbued within the design, it becomes an identity in its own right. Political design should come from the heart, it should come from experimentation, rigid rules are the best friends of the designer, and we see Middleton impart these ideas on the party, but there has to be a balance between clean ideas, identity and believing in the work you are producing. The hand-drawn placard means so much more than the corporate march identity, it shifts the focus from the organisation to the individual, it makes it more real.

54 Beirut Michael, ‘Graphic Design In Party Politics’ (London, 2018).

At the top of this research I spoke about the work of OSPAAAL and the Communist propaganda machine, alongside the unease the left had with the idea of ‘selling’ Socialism, and within posters we talk a lot about the selling of an idea through the medium, Susan Sontag writes about this and the very concept of selling is the antithesis of socialist theory. But do designs that come from the heart, when you believe in selling the theory, does that shift the idea of selling, does that do what the Communists believed was the objective of the poster; to educate and inform. We can take this further and say If design comes from a place of personal activism, does that make the message and the aesthetic stronger, I’d say in the examples of these posters, yes.

From a designers standpoint, there are beautiful examples of design within this body of work, but what has come out of this research is a debate over designers and humanity, beliefs and perspective.

In terms of the campaigns that I think are most successful are the ones in which the people can see

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themselves in, aspiration was crucial, but in fact, it’s relatability which conveys the best message, and if we take these ideas that we are discussing here and apply to them to current political design, can we argue that politics and in turn its design has become too dogmatic, too removed from its social core? If there is a message I want to take away from this work, alongside a greater understanding and appreciation for these beautiful pieces, is that we have conflated issues and overcomplicated our design ethos, design that is rooted in heart, that is aspirational is always the goal, and that is something that we can learn from then, to now.

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