Activists have long depended on print media to spread their message to gain support and almost every social movement has had a poster or image associated with it. In the 1960s and 70s, San Francisco and the Bay Area was rife with print shops that churned out posters and leaflets, distributed by activists.

While social movements today continue to use iconic images and poster design, the complexity of the media has dramatically changed how movements create a resonating brand identity; from social media accounts, email newsletters, website design and choosing which font to use, branding a movement is far more complex than it once was.

At our next installment of Expand, we’ll spend the evening with Design Action Collective, a worker-owned design collective that aims to leverage the power of good design to expand the reach of progressive social movements. Building on the Bay Area’s history of radical poster art and design, Design Action Collective has enabled both new and emerging social movements to better communicate their message in a 21st century visual vernacular. From their work with organizations like Causa Justa :: Just Cause, Black Lives Matter and Bay Resistance, they continue to evolve their design services to stay accountable to changing needs of social justice movements.