Agitprop, Part 2a
A Typical South African Event Flyer
Fliers and Pamphlets
Fliers (Flyers) and
Leaflets
These are handed out free, as advertising. Usually they only
have text on one side. Sometimes they are miniature versions of a poster. In
South Africa, most political fliers are A5 (half an A4) in size.
Fliers need to project the message that they are supposed to
convey, very simply and clearly. People who take fliers do not, on average,
spend more than a few seconds looking at them. Very few of them will keep the
flier or look at it twice. Therefore the main information must be the most
prominent information.
If the flier is to advertise an event, then the main
information is Date, Time and Venue. The nature of the event comes after these
in importance, even if it is put at the top of the flier. But of course it must
also be there.
As with posters, it is important to avoid the kind of
“clutter” that obscures the simplicity of the message.
Text in sentences and paragraphs is unlikely to be read.
Text in slogan form, and as announcement is what goes on fliers. In other
words, less is more. The graphics, layout and illustration should support and
not compete with the text.
Logos can be used, but what gets most attention on any page
is always the same thing: A human face or a human figure. In text, what gets
most attention is names of people. Polychrome is not necessary in a flier
design, just as it is not necessary in a poster.
Pamphlets
The word pamphlet is used sometimes to mean a leaflet, but a
pamphlet is really a text publication, normally having a number of pages. It is
usually like an essay, or what is sometimes called a tract. It is similar to
writing for periodicals like theoretical magazines, or as part of a book. The
difference from these is that the pamphlet is an occasional and not a regular
publication, and it is shorter than a book.
In South Africa, a pamphlet might typically be A5 in size,
several thousand words in length, and anything from 4 to 32 pages, or sometimes
even more than that. Pamphlets are often printed professionally. Sometimes they
have a cover, sometimes not. A recent SACP pamphlet was “Deepen the Historical
Ties between the ANC and SACP”, printed for the Party by Shereno printers. It
was a print version of a lecture given on 23 November 2012 as part of the ANC’s
Centenary celebrations.
Pamphlets have a long history in politics. One of the most
famous pamphleteers in the English language is Tom Paine. The 1848 Communist Manifesto
by Marx and Engels is a pamphlet, maybe the most successful one ever. Joe
Slovo’s “The South African Working Class and the National Democratic
Revolution” is a pamphlet-length work.
The Communist University’s booklet format is not different
from the historic pamphlet form.
A pamphlet is always an option when an occasional response
or publication is needed.
Bua Komanisi
The South African Communist Party keeps a title that is a
hybrid between a regular publication and a pamphlet, called Bua Komanisi. It does
not come out at regular intervals, but it is numbered in series. It is used for
occasional publication of important documents, such as discussion documents.
The most recent one, published in May, 2013, is “Let’s not Monumentalise the
National Development Plan,” a discussion of the NDP.
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