Malcolm Garrett declares "Brexit is over!" on the latest cover of The New European

Legendary graphic designer Malcolm Garrett, known for his work for artists such as The Buzzcocks, Duran Duran, Magazine and many others musicians in the 70s and 80s, has designed the cover for the latest issue of The New European. In homage to the iconic “War Is Over! If You Want It” poster by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Malcolm appropriates the news board design with a new slogan: “Brexit Is Over! If You Want It”.

In the latest issue of the weekly newspaper aimed at the 48% of people that voted to remain in the EU, Yoko Ono herself gave consent for the design to be used on the cover. The poster was originally used in protest against America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and later became synonymous with John and Yoko’s pacifist identity.

Matt Kelly, editor of The New European tells It’s Nice That: “The trick here was echoing the complete simplicity of the original John and Yoko poster — and also how to incorporate that with the newspaper masthead to minimise any distraction.” The latest issue nods to the current mess that the referendum has incited with hopes that it’s “Only a matter of time before Britain drops this lousy divisive Brexit.”

In terms of the design, Matt explains “We shrunk the masthead 30% and centred it elegantly above the message” The editor goes on to say, “The most important thing, as ever, is timing. Everyone’s head is full of ‘So This is Christmas’ and everyone’s doing their heads in over Brexit. So timing couldn’t be better" for this not-so-festive issue of the The New European.

The week so far: ECJ rules UK can drop Article 50 unilaterally and without penalty, Theresa May drops vote on her deal, Tory Party tries to drop Theresa May. Only a matter of time before Britain drops this lousy divisive Brexit. Here’s this week’s New European  pic.twitter.com/WSPTjUkXcP

— Matt Kelly (@mk1969) December 12, 2018