Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and a giant inflatable rubber duck. The latest exhibition at London’s Design Museum, ‘Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18’ (named after the iconic Shepard Fairey poster of Barack Obama, and the viral Trump meme, respectively) is shocking, surprising, and sometimes overwhelming.
A deep dive into graphic design of the last ten years – a decade that has seen catastrophic shifts in global politics, economy and the environment – the exhibition features everything from beer mats and badges to flags, posters and placards, with plenty of new media and technology, emphasised as perhaps the most insidious way to create and disseminate political ideas.
Installation view of ‘Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18’ at the Design Museum, London.
‘One of our main aims with “Hope to Nope” was to demonstrate that graphic design makes a demonstrable difference and to foreground its role in how people are informed, educated, entertained and provoked,’ asserts Lucienne Roberts. The graphic designer and author curated the show with fellow GraphicDesign& co-founder David Shaw, as well as Rebecca Wright and the Design Museum’s Margaret Cubbage (a book by the same name has also been published by GraphicDesign&).
‘New technology has in a sense democratised graphic design,’ Roberts explains. ‘Utilised by the marginalised and powerful alike, traditional media now rubs shoulders with the hashtag and the meme, making graphic design critical in giving everyone a political voice. Arguably, new technology has empowered grassroots activists but also resulted in targeted campaigns by political interest groups, designed to set people against one another and even destabilise political systems.’
Slogans reverberate off the walls: HOPE TRUMPS HATE, I’M IN, JE SUIS CHARLIE, I AM THE 99%. Organised into three sections (Protest, Power and Personality) ‘Hope to Nope’ makes the relationship between politics, technology and design apparent, moving from local to global campaigns, worldwide initiatives and more DIY forms of subverting the status quo, there is urgency, hilarity and absurdity here: not least in a rap video produced by the Chinese government.
Corbyn swoosh t-shirt, by Bristol Street War
‘Hope to Nope’ also reminds us of the success stories – moments that these designs propelled action. One reminder is the blue bra that was painted on the streets of Cairo in solidarity with the woman who was violently beaten by the military during civil arrest in 2011. The images proliferated online, garnering global media coverage, and prompting thousands of Egyptians to march into Tahrir Square.
Whether effective in their purpose or not, Roberts argues, graphic design – especially once out in the public space – is always political. Her own studio has worked with NGOs, trade unions and public health and education organisations. ‘Graphic design is a carrier of messages, a tool of influence used to persuade. The question we have a responsibility to ask is, “Persuade to do what and to whose benefit?”,’ she says. ‘Graphic design is rarely about graphic design after all.’
Installation view of ‘Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18’ at the Design Museum.
Blowhard, 2017, by David Plunkert, for The New Yorker
Remain campaign poster for the EU Referendum.
INFORMATION
‘Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18’ is on view until 12 August. ‘Hope to Nope’, £15, published by GraphicDesign&. For more information, visit the Design Museum website
ADDRESS
Design Museum
224-238 Kensington High Street
London W8 6AG
-
Tuneshine is a new way of bringing back the lost art of the album coverThe compact Tuneshine screen uses LED tech to illuminate the artwork of whatever you’re currently streaming
-
Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for danceJacob’s Pillow welcomes the reborn Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo, a new space that has just opened in the beloved Berkshires cultural hub for the summer season
-
What to see at Rencontres d’Arles 2025, questioning power structures in the state and familySuppressed memories resurface in sharply considered photography at Rencontres d'Arles 2025. Here are some standout photographers to see
-
Leila Bartell’s cloudscapes are breezily distorted, a response to an evermore digital world‘Memory Fields’ is the London-based artist’s solo exhibition at Tristan Hoare Gallery (until 25 July 2025)
-
A bespoke 40m mixed-media dragon is the centrepiece of Glastonbury’s new chill-out areaNew for 2025 is Dragon's Tail – a space to offer some calm within Glastonbury’s late-night area with artwork by Edgar Phillips at its heart
-
Emerging artist Kasia Wozniak’s traditional photography techniques make for ethereal imagesWozniak’s photographs, taken with a 19th-century Gandolfi camera, are currently on show at Incubator, London
-
Vincent Van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer are in rich and intimate dialogue at the Royal Academy of ArtsGerman artist Anselm Kiefer has paid tribute to Van Gogh throughout his career. When their work is viewed together, a rich relationship is revealed
-
Alice Adams, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse delve into art’s ‘uckiness’ at The CourtauldNew exhibition ‘Abstract Erotic’ (until 14 September 2025) sees artists experiment with the grotesque
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintingsThe artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
London calling! Artists celebrate the city at Saatchi YatesLondon has long been an inspiration for both superstar artists and newer talent. Saatchi Yates gathers some of the best
