By Dane Cobain
With students of the creative arts finding their degrees under threat, the creativity and wit shown in placards at protests across the country is unsurprising. Here, we’ve compiled a list of the top twenty.
1 - Everything Is OK 
A masked protester on Downing Street holds a cheerful banner as policemen stand on duty in the background. The simple sign draws most of its strength from the protester’s attire and the location of the photograph – top marks for irony. This has got to be their Facebook default.
2 - Clegg Sold Out Faster Than Muse
What can we say about this guy? He’s knocking on an invisible door and magically suspending a piece of cardboard on his head. Everybody loves a topical placard, and this might just be the king of them.
3 - First Dobby Dies, Now This?
One of two charting banners with a Harry Potter reference, the credit for this either goes to two different people or one giant with frighteningly long arms. It’s been a bad winter for elf-loving, cut-hating students of a muggle persuasion. Coming soon: a SPEW (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare) march in a town near you.
4 - Smash the Cuts, Not the Windows
In reaction to the first of the student marches where protesters smashed windows of the Millbank building, a student uses her placard to preach peace and love. It’s nice to see something other than anger and violence catching the photographers’ attention.
5 - What Else Have You Lied About?
Protesters outside the Millbank building wield a crude stick-figure sex scene accusing Nick Clegg and David Cameron of… well, you know. Easily deserves its place in the list for the hand-drawn illustrations and clever use of collage.
6 - Fuck This, I'm Moving to Scotland
It may just be a piece of cardboard without a handle, but this simple little sign expresses the feeling of half of the wannabe students in the country. Bonus points for the photobomber in the bottom right corner with his ‘legalise weed’ placard.
7 - Hi Mum, I'm Still Broke
This banner takes an undeserved background spot over the heads of other protesters. Impressively for a banner that has no specific reference to the cuts or the key players in the debate, it says it all. Hopefully their mum doesn’t disown them for ruining her best bed sheet.
8 - Need Money For Beer, Pot Noodles & Fees
Jedward’s older brother makes an appearance with a dodgy quiff and a beautifully honest placard. Notice the black nail varnish? Expect to see this sign all over the underground in the hands of stubbly, alcoholic young students. You have to suffer for your arts.
9 - How The F**k Am I Meant to Afford Hogwarts Now?
The second of our two Potter placards, a cheerful mudblood that cast a sign-making spell – Placardio Creatum. But our budding young wizard loses points for failing to swear, self-censorship is frowned upon at these events – do it properly or not at all.
10 - I Ain't Gonna Work On Maggie's Farm No More
Echoing the miners’ strike of the 1980s, a young student uses Bob Dylan’s lyrics to make his statement. Particularly impressive is the hand-drawn portrait of the Iron Lady herself, plus this is one of the only home-made banners that has a handle and isn’t just a piece of cardboard with writing on it.
11 - My Back Hurts Where Nick Clegg Stabbed Me
The sentiment of thousands of students who voted Lib Dem because Nick Clegg promised to oppose a rise in tuition fees. The sad face tugs at the heartstrings, and the photograph catches a similar sign behind them – ‘Found: Lib Dem Knife in my Back’.
12 - I Only Popped Out for a Pint of Milk
A low-quality photograph of a high-quality sign – almost a cliché for a protest placard, but it never gets old. Also, if we’re not mistaken, the purple banner on the left says ‘Roehampton Staff & Students Against H.E. Cuts’. The only fault is the lack of illustrations – come on mate, a pint of milk can’t be that hard to draw.
13 - University or Drug Dealing - Your Choice
It’s Chesney from Coronation Street, standing out from the crowd with the side of a cardboard box. Another hand-drawn sign makes it in to the top twenty, even if it’s for all of the wrong reasons.
14 - We Don't Need No Edumacation... Obviously...
Pink Floyd references never need an explanation, and if you add that to the Homer Simpson-style spelling of ‘education’ and the bitter sarcasm, you can start to see the subtle genius in the simple banner. Maybe somebody should ask Roger Waters and David Gilmour what they think about the education cuts. The ‘Tory Scum’ placard gets an honourable mention – those words are echoing out across London for the first time since Thatcher was in power.
15 - I Could Have Made a Better Sign if I Had enough Money to go to University
These people know how to protest – sitting down with a cup of coffee. Somebody give this guy a fiver and send him off to Hobbycraft!
16 - Angry Sign
Nothing says ‘I’m extremely displeased with the proposed cuts’ like this. The placard takes an undeserved background to the vandalism caught in the photograph, but it loses none of its power because of it. For all we know, it could be the same placard that their parents took on the miners’ strike in the eighties.
17 - OMG, They Killed Higher Education!
The bastards! Another relevant pop culture reference, this time referring to the ever-topical South Park. What would Matt Stone and Trey Parker make of the marches? Maybe we’ll find out in the next series of South Park, which is due to air in April 2011.
18 - Do I Look Like I Am Made Out of Money!?
Impressive costume and witty slogan, which holds up until you stop and wonder whether anybody said: ‘Yes, yes you do.’ He’s almost saved by his effort and dedication, but then the dodgy punctuation distracts you. Nobody should ever be forced to read syntax like that.
19 - Clegg Pulled Our Leg
Simple but clever, complete with a diagram in case you couldn’t afford to go to university and don’t know what a leg is.
20 - This is What Happens When You Break Promises
It’s hard to be sure whether they’re threatening to leave a dead raven on Nick Clegg’s doorstep or referring to the huge crowd of protesters in the background of the photograph – either way, this sign perfectly captures the moment and should frighten politicians across the planet.
