Steve Biko poster

Steve Biko Poster design
Steve Beko Poster
Steve Biko poster printed on a t-shirt
Steve Biko T-shirt design

Steve Biko poster design competition

Steve Biko was once quoted as saying : “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor, is the mind of the oppressed”. Another famous quote of his was “Black is beautiful”. These two quotes were my inspiration for the Steve Biko poster and t-shirt designs that I created for a competition.

I remember seeing a bootleg copy of the film ‘Cry Freedom‘ when I was in high school in the early nineteen nineties. It was banned here in South Africa at the time, as Apartheid was still in place. But we were fortunate enough to have a very liberal and cool teacher who thought it would be good as part of a history lesson. He was spot on, as the story of Steve Biko and the events that lead to his untimely death in 1977 has stayed with me ever since.

The topic of the competition happened to be, South African Heroes That Have Made a Difference. I immediately thought of Steve Biko. While most people immediately thought of Nelson Mandela , I thought that Biko was a less obvious choice. In my opinion if Steve Biko had lived he may have been even more famous than President Nelson Mandela himself.

I wanted to celebrate an African hero with my design and also create something that people would want to wear often,  so I didn’t want it to be too serious.

Steve Biko poster with a Baobab tree
Steve Biko Baobab tree