№
Year
Artist/Designer
Title
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.
Democracy in Print
11
