The People Powered Press
Typography-forward slogan designs amplifying underrepresented voices from northern England
“People Powered Press” is a name with a double meaning. On one level, it refers to a letterpress printing press so enormous that it must be operated by two or more people (at 4.5 ft-wide, the Guinness Book of Records says it’s actually the largest press of its kind in the world).
But “people powered” also captures the ethos of the social enterprise behind this giant machine. The People Powered Press team work with local community organisations to help people create slogan artworks based on their own words, from primary schools to asylum support networks in Bradford and beyond.
These large-scale posters are then displayed to the public in the neighbourhoods where their creators live, work and study. Some are also transformed into stylish shoppable products, proceeds from which go back into supporting People Powered Press’s work.
Why they are different:
Striking graphic design goes hand in hand with a social conscience at People Powered Press. The letterpress itself was made in 2018 as part of a project exploring northern English identity through type, and the organisation creates products with leading artists, graphic designers and writers to help fund its work in the local community.
Why they are kind:
By offering low- and no-cost workshops to charities and nonprofits, People Powered Press has won plaudits for engaging with diverse communities in a genuinely empowering way all across West Yorkshire. The message: art is for everyone, and everyone has something to say.
