Book
19,7 cm × 24,8 cm
2013
Democratie in druk (Democracy In Print) is part of my masterthesis at Sint Lucas Antwerp about graphic design in politics. The book is divided in two parts. The first part is an essay I wrote about the role graphic design plays in the communication of political parties, the second part is an archive of posters of the six major Flemish parties throughout the 20th century.
The essay is a general exploration of the position of graphic design in the service of political parties. In it I look at the importance of a visual presentation, but also at the limits of the role of graphic design. I analyse several important historical examples and the general visual evolution throughout the 20th century.
The second (and biggest) part is an archive of Flemish political posters of the 20th century. The posters are sorted per big Flemish political family (liberalism, christian democracy, socialism/social democracy, Flemish nationalism, far-right nationalism and the green party). This is the first time ever in Flanders that such a collection has been brought together. By bringing together all these images, certain trends and differences are made apparent. But not only the big differences between the various political ideologies can be seen, also the general evolution of the visual language of politics in Flanders emerges.
