Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship is one of the world’s leading repositories of original, challenging, controversial and intelligent writing on free expression issues. Index on Censorship continues to log free expression abuses in scores of countries, report on censorship issues from all over the world, and add to the debates on those issues.
The Extremism issue of Index took as its central theme the legal reaction to the perceived terrorist threat post 9/11 and not the threat itself. The brief forbade the use of potentially ambiguous cover imagery - no Muslims in traditional dress or anything else that could be seen as adding to the hysteria surrounding this issue.
The solution was to create a typographic interpretation of the word extremism on a 'Guantanamo orange' background colour. The image on the back is the government evidence stamp taken from the infamous 'terrorists handbook' - possession of which has led to controversial arrests and prosecutions.
The internet has created a new age in the battle for freedom of expression. The design solution explored screen icons associated with missing files, drawing a visual link to the X of index. Further reference to technology was made by writing all the cover copy in html code.
The graphic language of protest is one of easy and cheap reproduction. Stencil artwork is one such style and pre-dates Banksy by millennia. The cover comments on the dangers faced daily by those reporting the middle east. See slide show of the stencil artworking here.
The Extremism issue of Index took as its central theme the legal reaction to the perceived terrorist threat post 9/11 and not the threat itself. The brief forbade the use of potentially ambiguous cover imagery - no Muslims in traditional dress or anything else that could be seen as adding to the hysteria surrounding this issue.
The solution was to create a typographic interpretation of the word extremism on a 'Guantanamo orange' background colour. The image on the back is the government evidence stamp taken from the infamous 'terrorists handbook' - possession of which has led to controversial arrests and prosecutions.
The internet has created a new age in the battle for freedom of expression. The design solution explored screen icons associated with missing files, drawing a visual link to the X of index. Further reference to technology was made by writing all the cover copy in html code.
The graphic language of protest is one of easy and cheap reproduction. Stencil artwork is one such style and pre-dates Banksy by millennia. The cover comments on the dangers faced daily by those reporting the middle east. See slide show of the stencil artworking here.