Propaganda and Design in Times of Crisis
This lecture examines the complex relationship between design and propaganda, particularly during moments of crisis, war, and social upheaval. Throughout history, posters, symbols, and mass-media visuals have been used to inform, persuade,inspire, and at times manipulate public perception. By analyzing key examples, we uncover how recurring visualstrategies and persuasive codes reappear across different historical periods — only the technologies change. Thesession encourages participants to critically recognize emotional manipulation, misinformation, and hidden agendas in design. The ultimate goal is not merely to understand history, but to sharpen our perception as designers and visual citizensin the contemporary media landscape.

Bojan Hadžihalilović, Professor of Visual Communication at the Academy of Fine Arts (ALU) in Sarajevo, is a Sarajevo-based graphic designer and creative director. He founded the design studio TRIO Sarajevo in 1985, which created album covers, daily newspapers and magazines, theatre and film posters, books, and other visual materials. Later, Studio TRIO established the agency Fabrika, which has grown into one of the largest design and marketing agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His work has received multiple awards and has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.
Bojan Hadžihalilović teaches at the Department of Graphic Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo and also lectures on Visual Communication at the Academy of Performing Arts. The works of TRIO and Fabrika have been featured in numerous international magazines, including Graphis, Print, How, Step Inside Design, Life, Newsweek, The Face,Creative Review, Art Press, Flash Art, as well as in books such as Anatomy of Design, Innovative Promotions at Work, The Design of Dissent, Graphic Agitation II, Evil Doesn’t Live Here, Political Posters in Central and Eastern Europe 45–95, and Boundless Borders.