Iconic Hope Posters

During the 2008 Presidential Election campaign, perhaps no design was as ubiquitous as that of the Barack Obama “Hope” poster.  This iconic poster was designed by Shepard Fairey, one of the world’s most famous modern street artists.  Fairey created the design for his so-called Project Hope posters.  The imagery is simple and iconic:  Barack Obama’s portrait is produced in tri-color (red, white, and blue) above a simple bold sans-serif statement such as “hope” or “progress”.  The image is charming to the eye, but it is also obviously political, as it portrays a major political candidate. However, Fairey has also created other famous political designs that were not related to Obama or the Democratic Party. For example, he created a multi-media project called “The Philosophy of Obey”.  The most visible aspect of this project was the stickers posted (often without any permission) on signs, windows, and cars everywhere.  These stickers featured a highly stylized face of Andre the Giant and the simple word: “OBEY”.  Thousands of art fans printed these stickers and pasted them in cities all around the world.