Contemporary Designers' Declaration Message on the Current Era: 'Spirit of the Times' Project

Declaration Poster of the Current Situation by 63 Team's On-site Designers
Released on SNS on the 10th · Website Opens on the 24th · February Offline Exhibition

Contemporary professional designers present a variety of 'Political Declaration Posters' that visually express the history of democracy in the Republic of Korea and the voices of its citizens, from the April 19, 1960 Democratization Movement to the 2024 Martial Law.

63 Group On-site Designers' 'Declaration Poster on the Current Situation.' Work by Byeonghak An [Photo provided by Daily Practice]

On the 9th, the graphic design studio 'Daily Practice' announced that 63 groups of professional designers participated in the 'Spirit of the Times' project, which reexamines democracy through design based on political declarations covering key moments in modern Korean history. The project will be unveiled on SNS on the 10th.

The participating designers drew inspiration from past political declarations and spent about a month creating posters by selecting words or phrases of their choice. They shared a common motivation that "visual expressions capturing the voices of citizens can contribute to redefining democracy in our society today."

63 Group Active Designers' 'Declaration Poster on the Current Situation.' Work by Park Woo-hyuk
[Photo provided by Daily Practice]

The project was planned immediately after the martial law on December 3, preceded by archiving over 220 major political declarations issued since 1960. During this process, a diverse group of talents ranging from emerging to renowned designers gathered to visually interpret the values of democracy. They emphasized the importance by stating, "The lessons of the past are closely related to the current crisis of democracy."

As part of the 'Spirit of the Times' project, participating designers will sequentially post their works on SNS platforms such as Instagram starting from the 10th. Each piece can be easily found through hashtags like '#SpiritOfTheTimesProject' and '#PoliticalDeclarationPoster'. On the 24th, a website showcasing all the works in one place will be launched.

63 Groups of Active Designers' 'Declaration of the Times' Posters. ???????? Works
[Photo by Ilsang-ui Silcheon]

The offline exhibition will be held from February 24 to March 17 at the 'Relation Space' gallery in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The exhibition is a non-profit project and open to anyone who desires democracy without an admission fee. The costs for venue rental and production were supported by companies and organizations including AG Typography Research Institute, SAA, Relation Space, Saeroum Eye, Angraphics, and First Kyungil.

A representative from Daily Practice stated, "Despite having experienced impeachment just eight years ago, we are now in confusion where similar history is repeating itself." They added, "The intention of this project is to recall political declarations that captured citizens' voices at turning points in modern history."

They further explained, "Through this project, we aimed to envision the form of democracy that citizens must build with their own hands, beyond the dismissal of any particular regime."