YELLOW BANNER ON A MONUMENT: A DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS OF VISUAL PROTEST BY GREENPEACE AT BUNDARAN HI, JAKARTA (2019 TO 2026)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30651/cadj.v2i2.34343Keywords:
Banner Design, Greenpeace, Image Events, Public Space, Visual Communication DesignAbstract
Banners are a basic medium of visual communication design, yet protest banners are rarely analyzed as designed objects. This study examines the banner action of Greenpeace Indonesia at the Selamat Datang Monument in Bundaran HI, Jakarta, on 20 October 2026, and compares it with two earlier Greenpeace actions at the same site in 2019 and 2023. The study uses qualitative documentary analysis of news reports and statements published between 2019 and 2026. Each action was coded for visual form, staging, message frame, official response, and media wording. The concepts of image events, framing, and the semiotics of color and place guide the interpretation. The findings show five patterns. The banners combine a yellow ground, black letters, and short parallel slogans. The monument and the early hour gave the banners a stage and wide visibility. The slogans bridge climate with a current national issue, and in 2026 the issue was the cost of living. Officials answered in the language of order, safety, and heritage. News outlets described the same event with different verbs, such as arrested, secured, held, and evacuated, and with different counts of six or eleven people. The study offers a method for reading protest banners as design objects and implications for designers of campaign visuals. The findings are preliminary because the events are recent. The analysis rests on news descriptions and not on direct viewing of the banners, and it does not assess the legality of any action.
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