Protest is graphic. Protest is subtle. Protest is frontal. Protest makes us think and makes us smile. Protest can be taken home. And: Protest has many different facets and can be expressed in a variety of forms at various occasions. At demonstrations around the world, posters are obviously still the most effective medium. Powerful messages on current and socially relevant themes are compressed on posters, and this graphically reduced form can make expressions of protest memorable. In the runup to the festival, the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK issued an open call to design a protest poster and to engage in a critical and intentionally provocative examination of personal protest themes. Occupying the foreground was the question of what moves creative social critics and critical designers these days. On the festival grounds of the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, the exhibition STUDIO PROTEST gathered the most expressive subjects and presented the winners. Curated by Erwin K. Bauer.

Jury members: Verena Panholzer (Studio Es), Milo Tesselaar (Political advisor and journalist), Eva Weissenberger (Journalist), Erwin K. Bauer (buero bauer, curator STUDIO PROTEST), Lilli Hollein (VIENNA DESIGN WEEK)

Winners: Alexandra Dzhiganskaya, Anna Vasof, Charly Krimmel, Erli Grünzweil, Hannes Mitterberger, Johannes Wildförster, Kamil Rekosz, Kanal 2, Laurent Schmitt, Lo Breier and Karenine Reber, Mario Kupcevsky, Marta Klibert, OrtnerSchinko, Philipp Profer, Piotr Depta-Klésta, Tina Zeltwanger, Vladislav Lukanovich