Graphic Design Histories for Creative Dissent
Archiving and Ethical Challenges (GDHCD)This is our holding page for a new international research project to explore histories of graphic design for street protest
What we are doing.
Graphic Design Histories for Creative Dissent: Archiving and Ethical Challenges will focus on the timely subject of graphic objects of street protest for global movements, defining and critically engaging with histories of creative dissent since the 1950s in Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom to reveal graphic design’s capacity to both address and exacerbate social crises and inequalities. The project will examine case studies of protest movements ranging from Women’s Liberation to anti-apartheid and LGBTQIA+ activism.
Funded by national funding bodies UKRI, FAPESP and NRF through the Trans-Atlantic Platform for Social Sciences and Humanities, the project will look at protests across the political spectrum and examine the distinctions between the modes of visual communication for communities of resistance in Brazil, South Africa and the UK. At the same time, it will explore how cultural memory around the development of struggles for democracy might perpetuate archival work in the future.
Combining graphic design history and practice, the project will collaborate with experts in art history, philosophy, political science, media, critical archival studies and cultural and religious studies. It will bring these perspectives together through case studies spanning 70 years, alongside design-led workshops, talks and other events, to investigate the influence of creative material forms of dissent and to share best practice in developing rigorous and ethical archiving practices.
This project will advance knowledge of protest movements, by demonstrating the role of designed material in consciousness-raising, identity formation and in the articulation of opinions and demands, supporting future democracies, built on fair governance and trust, and creative outputs from the research will include a documentary film, publications and a research website.
Ken Garland. Poster for Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament march: Aldermaston to London (1962), Ken Garland & Associates archive, Royal College of Art Special Collections.
Dikobé Martins, Poster for Steve Biko’s Funeral (1977), Black People’s Convention, University of the Witwatersrand, image by courtesy of South African History Archive.
Women’s Movement for Amnesty. Poster of the Women’s Movement for Amnesty (1975), Memorial da Democracia / CEDEM-UNESP.
FHK Henrion. Poster for Campaign for Nuclear Disarmanent Stop Nuclear Suicide (1963), FHK Henrion Archive, University of Brighton Design Archives, by courtesy of Henrion estate.
Who we are.
Core Team
Dr Thandi Gamedze
University of the Western Cape, South Africa
Post Doctoral Fellow
Project Research Curators
Project Partner
International Advisory Board
Prof Jeremy Aynsley
Chair Prof Emeritus of Design History, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Dr Pragya Dhital
Institute of Advanced Studies, United Kingdom
Dr Maja Maricevic
Director of Science and Innovation, British Library, United Kingdom
Prof Jo Littler
Professor of Cultural, Media and Social Analysis, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
Prof Solange Ferraz de Lima
Museu Paulista, University of São Paulo, Brazil
Razia Saleh
Head, Archive and Research at Nelson Mandela Foundation, South Africa
Our Institutions.
The University of Brighton (UOB) is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858, and it achieved university status in 1992. The University of Brighton holds an internationally significant collection of Design Archives, as well as a research Centre for Design History, which applies a cross-disciplinary research perspective to understand how design in all its forms has shaped things, spaces and actions across time. www.brighton.ac.uk/cdh
Founded in 1837, the Royal College of Art (RCA) is the world’s leading university of art and design. Specialising in teaching and research, the RCA offers degrees of MA, MPhil, MFA, MDes, MArch, MEd, MRes, Graduate Diploma and PhD across the disciplines of architecture, arts & humanities, design and communication. A small, specialist and research-intensive postgraduate university based in the heart of London, the RCA provides around 2,500 students with unrivalled opportunities to deliver art and design projects that transform the world. The RCA’s approach is founded on the premise that art, design, creative thinking,science, engineering and technology must all collaborate to solve today’s global challenges. The RCA was named the world’s leading university of art and design in the QS WorldRankings 2025 for the eleventh consecutive year (QS World Subject Rankings 2015-2025). rca.ac.uk
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) was formed on January 1, 2005, through the merger of Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) and Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR). UJ is a leading institution committed to excellence, innovation, and transformation. It has grown into a diverse and inclusive institution with a large student population of nearly 51,000, including international students from various countries. In 2025, for the third time running, UJ was ranked the top producer of research outputs in South Africa according to a report by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). www.uj.ac.za
The University of São Paulo (USP), founded in 1934, is a public university, maintained by the State of São Paulo. It offers 183 undergraduate courses and 239 graduate programs (Masters and PhD) in all areas. Various world rankings recognized the talent and dedication of USP students and staff, placing it among the top institutions in Latin America and among the 100 best universities in the world. Design courses and research at USP concentrate in the Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism, and Design (FAU-USP). www.fau.usp.br
In 1959, Parliament under apartheid established the University College of the Western Cape (UWC) as a constituent college of the University of South Africa for people classified as “Coloured”. In 1970, the institution gained university status and was able to award its own degrees and diplomas. Today, UWC is a research-led university responsive to the needs of a changing world through excellence in teaching, learning and research and the generation and application of new knowledge. www.uwc.ac.za
Our Funders.
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
Established in 1962, FAPESP is a public institution dedicated to providing financial support for academic research and innovation, located in São Paulo, Brazil. fapesp.br/en
The National Research Foundation (NRF)
The NRF is a South African independent statutory body. As a government mandated research and science development agency the NRF funds research, the development of high-end Human Capacity and critical research infrastructure to promote knowledge production across all disciplinary fields. nrf.ac.za/about-us/
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Launched in April 2018, UKRI is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
The organisation brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England, which is responsible for supporting research and knowledge exchange at higher education institutions in England, and the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK. ukri.org/
