Most protest posters are one-offs. And so are most climate protests. But Extinction Rebellion broke that mold, becoming the first global climate action brand, thanks partly to an innovative approach to branding and design – and great posters.
Starting in 2018, Extinction Rebellion gave artists worldwide a simple brand positioning and visual identity to improvise on, and encouraged them to do so. They held workshops to educate artists about the grassroots, decentralized organization and its key principles. The following year, the movement caught fire.
Extinction Rebellion posters are simpler, bolder and edgier than most climate posters, usually featuring some combination of the XR hourglass logo, a simple slogan, and skull or other symbol of death or extinction. And they come in a huge and ever expanding variety of colors and formats, always localized for the audience they’re targeting. You can read how this all came about in these articles:
- “The art of London’s climate change protests is an homage to the 1968 Paris riots”
- “How Extinction Rebellion designed “angry but peaceful” protest graphics”
- “How Extinction Rebellion’s graphic design amplified their year of radical activism”
- “How Extinction Rebellion’s graphics became the symbol of environmental uprising”
- “Extinction Rebellion on the creative industries: ‘What is the cultural sector even for?'”
Meantime, check out this sampling of awesome Extinction Rebellion posters and artwork from artists all over the world:
