Visual Impact: Creative Dissent in the 21st Century

Liz McQuiston

Softcover | 19.05 x 1.91 x 27.31 cm | 240 pp

Phaidon | 2015 | 9780714869704

Visual Impact is an accessible and richly illustrated exploration of how art and design have driven major social and political change in the 21st century. Richly illustrated with over 400 images, this is a visual guide to the most influential and highly politicised imagery of the digital age.

Organised thematically by global issues and events, Visual Impact’s generously illustrated spreads, clearly present and explain the most influential and highly politicised imagery of the twenty-first century. Themes and issues include popular uprisings (the Arab Spring, the London Riots), social activism (marriage equality), and environmental crises (Hurricane Katrina), as well as the recent Je Suis Charlie protests.

Showcasing over 200 artists and designers, ranging from internationally renowned names such as Ai Weiwei and Shepard Fairey to anonymous internet users distributing work across Twitter and Facebook, Visual Impact features exciting graphics from emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia and China, and recent work created in response to the Arab Spring.