Sometimes you have to look back to move forward. Shepard Fairey’s Hope poster design became synonymous with Barrack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, instilling a key one-word message that helped propel the Democrat candidate to victory over John McCain.
We included the piece in our pick of the best poster designs of all time, and it even entered the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. Now Fairey has revisited the design as Kamala Harris seeks to prevent a convicted felon from retaking the White House and potentially ending US democracy. And the Obey Clothing founder has done it again.
Fairey’s Kamala Harris poster depicts the current vice president gazing upward in blue and teal with a circular red KH badge. The word “HOPE” is replaced by “FORWARD”, echoing Harris’s affirmation that “We’re not going back”.
On the @obeygiant Instagram page, Fairey wrote: “In order not to go back, we must go FORWARD!… While we have not achieved all the goals we might be seeking, we are making progress – all in the face of expanding threats and regressive political adversaries.”
He added: “If we act we can move forward our desire for a healthy planet, for corporate accountability, toward equality and away from racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia, for equitable access to opportunity, for full access to the medical care we want or need, for fair and just immigration policies.”
Fairey says he intended for the Harris FORWARD poster to be used as a tool for grassroots activism, and it’s free to non-commercially. He says he was not paid for the work and won’t receive financial benefit.
The poster uses the same key word as a poster of Harris made by the New York City illustrator and street artist Jacob Thomas. From the Harris Walz logo to Kamala HQ’s brat summer, the Democrat campaign has been showing the power of great design in political communication. While Fairey’s poster isn’t part of the official campaign, it’s another powerful piece of design for the Harris Waltz brand.
