The Umbrella Revolution
Hong Kong students are currently protesting for more political freedom and have been using umbrellas to protect themselves from police pepper spray. The umbrellas became a symbol of the movement and gave it its nickname, the Umbrella Revolution. Though protest leaders say their campaign is not a revolution but a civil-disobedience movement, the name Umbrella Revolution has stuck.
The Umbrella Movement is a loose pro-democracy political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong government, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.
The movement is composed of many fractious groups, but has no leadership or formal organisation overall, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS), Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) are among the most prominent groups, whose agendas differ and may even oppose each other.
OCLP, the originators of the campaign, as well as the student groups – HKFS and Scholarism – adopted and adhered to the principle of non-violent civil disobedience and the willingness to assume the consequential legal responsibility. The protesters' politeness, tidiness and "staunch adherence to nonviolence" was widely commented on. Protesters have written signs to apologise for the inconvenience caused and to denounce isolated incidents of vandalism.
The main demand is full democracy. Protesters want the right to nominate and directly elect the head of the Hong Kong government, known as the chief executive.
China, which resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong after it stopped being a British colony in 1997, wants to screen who can stand for office. Beijing insists that candidates for the chief-executive position must be vetted by an electoral committee of tycoons, oligarchs and pro-Beijing figures.
As a secondary demand, protesters want the current chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, to resign, which he has flatly refused to do. Leung is widely disliked because he is seen as prioritizing China’s interests over Hong Kong’s. He was also indirectly elected by an electoral college of just 1,200 voters, of which 689 voted for him. He is mockingly referred to as “689” after this feeble tally.
A huge sculpture holding the symbolic umbrella.
The yellow banner is a spoof on a similar yellow warning sign the police commonly use asking for protesters to retreat.
Street signs have been covered and changed to reinforce their campaign.
A very symbolic and almost triumphant photo of a student holding umbrellas.
A photo from up higher showing the sheer volume of umbrellas.
This was an interesting piece of graphics that I've come across. The dollar sign has been kept at the bottom but the top of the S has been replaced with an umbrella. It argues that it doesn't matter how much money or how little money someone has; everyone should have the right to choose. The bold font and strong colour palette creates an eye catching design.
Again another poster following the same design structure. The two legs form the two umbrella poles. 'Stand strong' tells people to keep going, keep believing and keep fighting for what is right. It reignites their passion for the cause.
This DYI umbrella works incredibly well to catch attention. The bold capitals makes a statement reminding those they are fighting that the world IS watching and would probably oppose to the use of tear gas and the way the students are being treated.
Simple and perhaps not as powerful as the other posters purely because of font choice. The lower case makes it look more like a logo rather than an political movement. However the combination of the U and the R to form the umbrella pole and handle works well.
For this protest a really strong and clear design aesthetic has been achieved. This strengthens the campaign and the message they are trying to get across. It's been interesting to see what students are doing else where and how they can stand up, unite and create a clear message.
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