Digital 1985-present

Poster for "Shakespeare in the Park" by Paula Scher created in 1997.
sourced from www.pentagram.com

Although Digital designers work mainly on computers, the style looks handmade. This poster uses a hand-drawn font and a layered print with deliberate off registration. The text is drawn every which way adding to the chaotic layered look. The colour scheme and the layout breaks all the rules of the previous design styles like Swiss and Contemporary. However you can see that there is symmetry and balance in the main elements. This influential designer has made many posters for the New York Theater and her aim is to push the boundaries associated with classic art and theater.

Art Chantry's poster (part of)  for the DTs "Filthy Beasts" concert.
sourced from www.cfinch3.blogspot.com

This poster is reminiscent of 1950s Kitsch design, with its comic book  dots, flat blocks of colour and typed text applied over the main image. It also has a feel of urban graffiti about it, which is part of the rebellious surf/skate subculture drawn on for Digital design. Once again this poster looks as though it has been made by hand in someone's garage, rather than using all the computer design graphics available. This deliberately chaotic look is expressive and approachable to people involved in the music and art communities.

I like some Digital design, especially when it draws on historical influences. It looks cool and edgy without appearing to try too hard. I think its great that even with all the technology available, designers still strive for a handmade element in their work, often with unpredictable results.

Contemporary 1975-present

"Your body is a battleground" poster by Barbara Kruger, created in 1989.
sourced from www.tfaoi.com

This poster is one of a series in the same vein, and is set out in a grid similar to Swiss and Bauhaus principles. The use of a sanserif italicised font and red, black and white colour scheme is also reminiscent of Constructivist design. Contemporary design like this one, draws on this history to create simple, concise work with a streamlined look.  The use of Photoshop in this work, especially the postive/negative image, is also typical.

"Jelly" GK100 watch made in 1983 by Swatch.
sourced from www.schmid-muller.com

This watch has all the hallmarks of Contemporary design. The transparency of the product allows us to see the mechanism inside it, and the absence of colour looks modern and clean. The design purely functional, this creating style in itself. Contemporary design with its use of industrial finishes, has made objects such as this watch into cult status items.

I don't like this style of design as much as others, because it can be clinical and cold if it doesn't have some quirkiness. However its simple classic style is useful for many graphic design tasks.

Post Modernism 1975-1990

"Spring Dance Ensemble" poster created in 1985 by AdamsMoriekaInc
sourced from www.burningsettlerscabin.com

This poster has many Post Modern elements. The colour combination is very 1980s, and the black and white image has been reduced to its basic elements. The picture is very three dimensional and seems to reach out from the page. The comic book dots in the background and the expressive lines show how designers of the time rejected the design rules from the previous period. The policy of "form follows function" has been ignored here, delivering an artwork that has movement and energy. The tilted axis is reminiscent of Constructivists, and this designer has obviously been inspired by their work.

"Bel Air" armchair designed by Peter Shire in 1982 while
working with The Memphis Group
sourced from www.designapplause.com

This unusual piece of furniture reflects the design period in which it was made. The bright saturated colours used, organic curves and asymmetry are typical, as is the way each element is in a different hue and texture, giving a collaged effect. This designer belonged to an artistic group that challenged the status quo with their unconventional approach to design, and this is evident in this piece.

This design style is engaging in its use of appropriated images and the playful way they are put together. I like this style because it is fun, informal and expressive, with colour, energy and humour keeping it interesting.

Psychedelia 1960-1975

Music poster created by Victor Moscoso in 1967.
sourced from www.wolfgangsvault.com

This example of Psychedelia has the typical raybands and the vibrating optics achieved by using complementary colours in similar strengths. Using an Egyptian image shows the interest in mystical and ancient religions prevalent at the time. The font is warped and hand drawn, which was a feature of those used during this design period, as is the curved shape and Art Nouveau feel to the piece.

Album cover for "Disraeli Gears" created by Martin Sharp in 1967.
sourced from www.optimismsflames.com

This colourful cover has all the trademarks of a typical Psychedelic artwork. The clashing rainbow bright colours, winged shapes adding movement and the photos which would have been reduced to black and white and then recoloured by hand. The collage of unrelated  Victorian and Art Nouveau images is typical of music covers at this time as well as the lack of white space. Psychedelia as a design style and as a lifestyle was all about maximalism.



I enjoy the colourful, vibrant nature of this design style and feel that for me, it is best used in the music and surf/skate industries as it represents the freedom this era embraced. I like the collages and the warped fonts created at a time when all design work was done by hand and appreciate the hours of work these artworks would have required to be made.

Swiss/International 1945-1985

Advertising poster by John Rieben and John Massey produced in 1965.
sourced from www.pinterest.com

This poster is typical of the design period; the photo is a natural documentary style shot using scale to place emphasis on the subject. The typography is left aligned, a sanserif font used and in two base colours, and a minimal layout has been used. The overall look is simple, bold and geometric.

Sports poster created by Eugene and Max Lenz in 1958.
sourced from www.designishistory.com

Here the image draws on post-war feelings to bring the message across to the audience. The colour use is bold and minimal, shapes are geometric and reduced to the extreme basics. The font is sanserif and and in a clear easy to read format, aligned to a single edge. This policy of clarity above ornamentation is typical of the Swiss style.

I like the simplicity of these designs and the graphic way colour and image has been used, however some of the work produced at this time disengages the viewer and seems soul-less. This seems to be typical of designers in immediate post-war history.

Late Modern 1945-1970

Two page spread from "Westavaco" No 194, created by Bradbury Thompson in 1953.
sourced from  http\\:paris.blog.lemonde.fr

This designer was very adept at combining text, illustrations and photographs. His progressive use of overlapping semi-opaque shapes creates movement and colour, while modernising an old object. On the left page, he cleverly places a line drawing of the object within a cutout shape in a collage effect typical of this era in design. The simple classic font is also an Early Modern favourite.

Illustration from the book "Henry's Walk to Paris" by Leonore Klein, illustrated by Saul Bass in 1962.
sourced from www.ilike.org.uk

In this cute illustration, the artist has used the words of the story to make up the faces of the characters. Integrating text into illustration is an Early Modern theme which is still attractive today. Although this is a book for children, the illustrator has used pictures that engage the reader, making the connection between the shape of words and the pictoral form. The collaged, handmade look is friendly and playful.

I enjoy this period in design history because of the witty way many designers combined text and pictures. The meaning is not overly obvious, but requires some mental input to decipher it, sometimes yielding more than one outcome. The casual, often asymmetrical layouts used are also interesting.

American Kitsch 1940-1960

 Poster for British movie "Fiend without a Face" directed by Arthur Crabtree in 1958, artist unknown.
sourced from www.fridaynightboys300.blogspot

This poster is a good example of those produced for B-movies in the 1950s. The exaggerated facial expressions, the sexy girl and the fascination with sci-fi horror are all elements of this design period. The hand drawn type used for the title is equally dramatic and this was often used in advertising. The simple colour scheme of red with a minty green is typically 1950s.

"Girl at Mirror" by Norman Rockwell for The Saturday Evening Post in 1954.
sourced from www.best-norman-rockwell-art.com

This artist had a very idealised view of 1950s America, and many of the covers he did for The Evening Post reflect this viewpoint. He often used children as his subjects in a typical American setting. This painting shows a wistful young girl comparing herself to the magazine ideal of the 50s (it looks like its Jane Russell, so he had a wry sense of humour!) Many American men at the time wanted to revert back to a traditional life after the war, with housewives and perfectly adorable children to come home to.


I like this type of design because it is quite witty and cartoonish. It feels fun and youthful.