010 - The Aesthetic Resistance

I spent three days in Beirut in 2018 doing what I do best—nothing productive. I was too busy nursing hangovers and trying local foods to actually experience Lebanon, but somewhere between my blurry vision and the sun in my eyes, I noticed something. The flags. Hezbollah's flags. Not everywhere, but just enough to make me notice.

And I couldn't stop looking at them.

Somewhere in Lebanon

Not because of what their flag stands for, but as a graphic designer who's done plenty of logos, I have to admire and applaud what they have come up with. The layering of symbols, the use of colour, the hidden messages, and the AK-47—which, if you haven't noticed, we've hidden in each of our collections. And trust me, the following collections will have them too.

L: Original || R: Imitation

They could have taken the easy route and just jotted down lettering, thrown a dot behind it, and added three vertical stripes. The militant group "mit den 3 Streifen" better rebrand before Adidas sends in the cease-and-desist letters. However, I must applaud them for being more stylish than ETA – talk about poor typography and spacing.

Before we break down the design, we have to mention that the inspiration for the Hezbollah logo happens to be, unsurprisingly, the logo of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces

"Examples of contemporary Iranian political art were among the means of support Iran provided to the movement in Lebanon. According to Maasri, members of the Hezbollah media office received training in technical skills and poster design from Iranian artists who came to Lebanon and held workshops. They even designed some of the first Hezbollah posters between 1983 and 1985, as well as the Hezbollah logo. It is a design based on the Revolutionary Guards logo."

Now for the breakdown of Hezbollah’s logo design: Yellow dominates the background, which no one seems to know the exact reason for, but to me, it symbolizes the heat of the region. I could be wrong. Then we've got green—a crowd favourite in Islamic imagery—used as the primary fill colour for the logomark. This choice underlines exactly which team they're swinging for. In the centre, "Hezbollah" is written in stylized Kufic script, where the ascender of the letter ا - Alif in Arabic - morphs into a hand holding an AK-47. Some argue it's an H&K G3, which has a straight magazine, not curved like AK models. Either way, if it wasn't obvious, the rifle symbolizes violent action.

Most designers at big agencies would've stopped here. They'd call it minimalist and submit it for approval. Yet this designer—or design team—wasn't done.

They added a bottom-view of the Quran right next to the outstretched arm, along with a seven-leafed plant. The plant – almost like a vine – perhaps symbolizes growth. Combine that with the assault rifle and globe, and the message is clear: they're ready to take over the world. The globe itself isn't highly detailed, but they worked in latitudes and longitudes—showing they understand precision and reach.

There's one more symbol hidden in there, less obvious, but if you look long enough, you'll find it. Message me if you do. We can talk about it.

The supporting text is simpler. The bottom reads "The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon," the top "Then surely the party of Allah are they that shall be triumphant." The centre reads "Hezbollah"—Party of Allah.

We must point out though that this artwork, logo, and emblem has gone untouched since the early 1980s, which makes it both dated yet timeless. It is an extremely detailed piece of work, something which was far more common 40–50 years ago. If we look at company logos today, take Apple for example, they were fully illustrated and then over the years stripped and simplified down to what it is now.

Hezbollah does get adventurous with their logo on occasion. You'll see different versions of it where the text is all green or it is a duo-tone gold on red, as if they were a football club with home, away, and third kits.

Here's why this matters: This is what happens when a terrorist organization hires actual talent. When they understand that propaganda isn't just about message—it's about craft. Every element serves multiple purposes. Every symbol works on multiple levels. It's a masterclass in how to make ideology visual.

We took that masterclass and flipped it. Our design keeps the structure, the precision, the layering. But we stripped the meaning and replaced it with our own. "Then surely the fuckery will continue. The non-religious resistance." We put Gündem in the centre and broke the AK. We kept their tools and used it against them.

That's the point of this shirt. Not to glorify what they stand for, but to prove that symbols are weapons—when in the right hands, they can cut both ways. We're not hiding from that contradiction. We're wearing it.