1945 Philip Zec INDUSTRY MUST SERVE THE PEOPLE - NOT ENSLAVE THEM

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 work has an air of optimism and excitement 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 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.

19 ‘General Election 2010: The Power of Persuasion’, Express. Co.Uk, 2010.