Visual culture
20 February 2021
The printed howl
Though locked down in London, this exhibition of letterpress protest posters has plenty of messages for the world
If the past few years have felt like one long trail of division, doom and injustice, followed by the deadly silence and devastating death toll of the pandemic, then ‘Reverting to Type 2020: Protest Posters’ is the exhibition for you, writes John L. Walters.
1 January 2021
Rigorous play
For almost three decades East Berlin duo Cyan has produced urgent, experimental yet precise graphic design. Jan Middendorp meets them while the city sleeps
Like all design studios, Berlin’s Cyan has gone through a very unusual year, writes Jan Middendorp.
17 December 2020
Waves of popularity
Graphic Design plays a key role in the re-emergence of Britain’s much-loved coastal resorts. The seventh and final instalment of Justin Burns’s series about seaside graphic design
The tide comes in. The tide goes out. The seaside is, by its very nature, a place in constant transition, writes Justin Burns.
11 November 2020
From analogue to activism
magCulture Live goes digital next week, for a two-day conference that celebrates the creative and social powers of magazines
Dividing its focus between ‘activism’ and ‘analogue’, magCulture 2020 shows that even in difficult, disruptive times, printed magazines keep their fingers on the pulse of the moment, writes Alex J. Todd.
29 October 2020
Sea, sky, paint and pattern
Rich, decorative patterns shape our experience of the British seaside. The sixth in Justin Burns’s series on coastal graphic design
Patterns and decoration have long informed the design of seaside architecture – promenades, amusements, hotels and shops. Arcades, piers and theme parks display bunting, flags and decorative signage that create an entertaining environment, writes Justin Burns.
4 September 2020
Artificial sunshine
Illuminated lettering signals entertainment and escapism by the sea. The fifth in Justin Burns’s series about coastal graphic design
If we take away the bright lights is there a place? The Blackpool Illuminations first lit the Lancashire seafront in 1879 when they were described as ‘Artificial Sunshine’, and remains an annual event every autumn, writes Justin Burns.
30 July 2020
A matter of (sour) taste
The Slavs and Tatars collective makes satirical exhibitions and installations that use pickling as a metaphor. By Gabriela Matuszyk
‘Pickle Politics’ is an eight-work cycle from collective Slavs and Tatars, writes Gabriela Matuszyk.
20 July 2020
Pier review
Decorative typography and lettering evoke the halcyon days of the British seaside. The fourth in Justin Burns’s series about coastal graphic design
Lettering, typography, and accentuated three-dimensional signs dominate the British coast, writes Justin Burns.
6 July 2020
Say their names
In the weeks following George Floyd’s death, Minnesota’s Twin Cities filled with graphic expressions of rage, mourning, solidarity and hope. By Steven McCarthy
In the wake of George Floyd’s unwarranted death at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, the graphic landscape of Minnesota’s Twin Cities has exploded with expressions of rage, mourning, solidarity and hope, writes Steven McCarthy.
18 June 2020
Roses and castles
Anthropologist Rowan Gatfield investigates the visual culture of Brayford Pool’s narrow boats
‘A Narrow Truth’ is a project that aims to illuminate hidden aspects of the waterborne legacy of Brayford Pool, Lincoln’s inland harbour, which dates back to the Roman Military Period (AD43), writes Rowan Gatfield.