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Protest posters

Creating posters for a movement
2 min read
Last update: Apr 4, 2025
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This guide will provide you with information on how to make effective posters for your cause. We will cover topics such as choosing the right images and words, designing for different audiences, and where to print your posters. With this guide, you will be able to create powerful posters that will help you get your message across and make a difference.

Posters are one of the most popular and effective ways for activists to spread their message. They are simple to make, easy to distribute, and can be very eye-catching. Posters can be used to raise awareness about a particular issue, to rally support for a cause, or to call for action.

While some posters are very serious in nature, others can be more light-hearted and humorous. Either way, they are an excellent way to get people thinking and talking about the issues that matter to you. With a little creativity and a lot of passion, you can use posters to make a real difference in the world.

Examples of protest posters

A brown background with black words, stencilled on, that read "WHAT WOULD I POST IF YOU WERE MURDERED BY THE POLICE?"

What Would I Post If You Were Murdered By The Police? Amos Kennedy, 2020, by Amos Kennedy (Public Domain)

A black and white poster, with a plastic baby doll on the right hand side, with it's limbs at odd angles. The top of the poster says, in big bold letters "AIDS: 1 in 61". Down the left hand side of the page, in smaller writing, it states "One is every sixty-one babies in New York City is born with AIDS or born HIV antibody positive. So why is the media telling us that heterosexuals aren't at risk? Because these babies are black. These babies are Hispanic. Ignoring color ignores the facts of AIDS. STOP RACISM: FIGHT AIDS." Underneath this, it states a message in Spanish: "Uno de cada sesenta y uno de los bebes nacidos en la ciudad de New York nacen con SIDA, o con el anticuerpo HIV positivo. Pero, por que es que los medios de comunicacion nos dicen que los heterosexuales no corren riesgos? Sera porque estos bebes son negros, o porque estos bebes son hispanos. El SIDA no discrimina entra rasas o nacionalidades. !PARE EL RACISMO! !LUCHE CONTRA EL SIDA!"

AIDS: 1 in 61, Gran Fury, 1988, by Gran Fury, 1988 (Open Access, Public Domain)

A landscape poster, on left side has a black and white photograph of Ed Koch, the mayor of New York in 1989, on the right side a black and white photograph which seems to depict two protesters in silhouette engaging in direct action with fire. In between the two photographs is a a bright red bullseye. Above the photos states "250,000 GAY AIDS CASES LAST WEEK, 50,000 THIS WEEK?". Below the photos it says "FACT OR FICTION?"

Fact or Fiction, by Avram Finkelstein & Donald Moffett , by Avram Finkelstein, Donald Moffett, 1989 (Open Access, Public Domain)

A poster emulating Coca Cola advertisements that reads "Enjoy AZT". Underneath it states "The U.S. government has spent one billion dollars over the past ten years to research new AIDS drugs. The result, 1 drug - AZT. It makes half the people who try it sick and for the other half it stops working after a year. Is AZT the last, best hope for people with AIDS, or is it a short-cut to the killing Burroughs Wellcome is making in the AIDS marketplace? Scores of drugs languish in government pipelines, while fortunes are made on this monopoly. IS THIS HEALTH CARE OR WEALTH CARE?"

Enjoy AZT, Avram Finkelstein & Vince Gagliostro, 1990, by Avram Finkelstein & Vince Gagliostro 1990 (Open Access, Public Domain)

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