In The Blackout, Wear or Carry Something White
Zero (Hans Schleger)
British, 1898–1976
1943
A 1943 lithograph poster by Zero (Hans Schleger) that bluntly instructs Londoners during wartime blackouts to "Wear or carry something white" so they stay visible on dark streets.
You first notice the cropped, tactile sweep of a heavy coat and a gloved hand clutching a white slip and a red whistle set against velvety black shadow and a sudden wash of electric blue, which turns the tiny white shapes into urgent beacons.
As wartime public-information design, it distills practical safety advice into bold, simplified form and color, demonstrating how graphic design could shape civilian behavior and anticipate modern information graphics.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
25 x 20" (63.5 x 50.8 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the London Passenger Transport Board
Accession
57.1945
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
