This printing block was used in temporary public design workshops put on by the Extinction Rebellion Arts Group in the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019. These workshops offer the opportunity for members of the public to create posters or banners of their own design using graphic elements from the group’s visual programme, such as the XR logotype featured on the block here. Although these graphics can also be downloaded digitally for free from XR’s website, the transfer of XR imagery to wood block prints used for analogue printing in a community setting is reflective of XR’s self-described ‘do-it-together’ ethos.
This printing block exemplifies both the recognisability and the flexibility of XR’s Design Programme, and its resultant prints perpetuate the group’s coherent design identity while expressing the unique creative initiatives of individual users. Visitors to the design workshops are encouraged to emblazon items of clothing or fabric that they already own using the group’s block prints, minimising consumption and eliminating any commercial transaction in the propagation of XR’s identity.