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Vintage publishes entire book On Tyranny as a series of posters, designed with Kingston students

Words
Jenny Brewer
—
Date
24 March 2017
A typographic poster featuring the bold headline “10. BELIEVE IN TRUTH”. A block of text explains that abandoning facts is to abandon freedom, while a longer passage of body copy fills the lower left. The letters “WP” are printed vertically in a large, heavy black font on the right. At the bottom, the text reads “ON TYRANNY TIMOTHY SNYDER” and “TWENTY LESSONS FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY VINTAGE”.
Above

Vintage: On Tyranny

Vintage publishers, part of Penguin Random House, will publish the entire text of a new book by Timothy Snyder called On Tyranny as posters, to be exhibited on an east London street. Designed by Suzanne Dean, creative director at Vintage, and her team in collaboration with graphic design students at Kingston University, the posters depict 20 “lessons from the 20th Century” such as “Believe in Truth”.

The type-led, highly graphical designs follow a strictly black, white and red colour scheme, using a variety of fonts and layouts to convey their bold messages. These are drawn directly from the book, which “offers a chilling comparison of present-day personality politics with the regimes of Hitler and Stalin”. Each chapter has been interpreted by a different designer, which Suzanne says gives each its own “visual character”, and was designed in just a few days.

Publishing the entire book on posters, a campaign which the publishers believe to be an industry first, is intended as a “provocation and a rallying call”.

The author says: “I feel that the artists have joined me in understanding the urgency of the project…The world is turning and we need to find our footing lest we be thrown; the history that can give us leverage is visual as well as textual, and in that sense as in others the posters are the book.”

The posters will be installed on 27 March on Leonard Street, London, EC2A.

The designers from Kingston university include: Abegayle Elmes, Aimee Bish, Amelia Nunes-Carvalho, Anna Bargery, Aoife O’Doherty, Bryony Shepherd, Charlie Jeffries, Charlie Phipps, Charlotte Allen, Daisy Symes, Ella Anthony, Ella Hilton, Ellen Pizzey, Ellie Littlemore, Emily George, Emma Clarke, Emma Teasdale, Evie Godwin, Fernando Lobina, Fran Williams, Grace Lister, Hannah Brady, Hannah Marine, Harrison Tiller, Harry Archer, Harry Hobbs, Ieuan Lewis, Jamie Webb, Jemma Warrington, Joe Moreno, Lauren Denney, Leah Fredrickson, Lydia Barba, Matthew Tomlinson, Megan O’Donnell, Millie Tyler, Ollie Servini, Rosie Ackroyd, Sarah Houghton, Scarlett Chetwin, Scott Coleman, Seb Price, Shoena Turnbull, Sophie Liverman, Sophie Punchard, Stephen Pelling and Tess Edwards.

A typographic poster on a black background featuring a red circle filled with white and red text. The central text reads “4. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACE OF THE WORLD”, surrounded by a call to notice and remove symbols of hate. At the bottom, the text reads “ON TYRANNY”, “TIMOTHY SNYDER” and “TWENTY LESSONS FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY”.
Above

Vintage: On Tyranny

A typographic poster on a black background features the number “16” above the phrase “Learn from peers in other countries”. The letters are white and red, accented with various diacritics and non-Latin characters. Below the main text, a paragraph advises readers to maintain international friendships and ensure their families have passports. The bottom of the poster reads “On Tyranny Timothy Snyder” and “Twenty lessons from the twentieth century Vintage”.
Above

Vintage: On Tyranny

A poster for the book On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder. Large, black calligraphic script is overlaid with red and black text providing advice on maintaining a private life. At the bottom, the title and author are listed alongside the phrase “Twenty lessons from the twentieth century” and the publisher, Vintage.
Above

Vintage: On Tyranny

A bold typographic poster featuring the phrase “DO NOT OBEY IN ADVANCE” in large black letters. A thick red vertical bar runs through the centre of the text. A block of smaller text explains how the power of authoritarianism is often freely given. The bottom of the poster reads “ON TYRANNY”, “TIMOTHY SNYDER” and “TWENTY LESSONS FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY”.
Above

Vintage: On Tyranny

A typographic poster featuring the words “be kind to our language” in bold black and red lettering. A central white circle contains a list of advice, including “Read books.” and “Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does.” At the bottom, text reads “On Tyranny”, “Timothy Snyder” and “Twenty lessons from the twentieth century”.
Above

Vintage: On Tyranny

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Further Info

www.penguin.co.uk/vintage

About the Author

Jenny Brewer

—

Jenny oversees editorial output across It’s Nice That. Get in touch with writing pitches for features or opinion pieces, big creative story tips, or questions about all things editorial. jb@itsnicethat.com

To submit your work to be featured on the site, please see our Submissions Guide.

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