History of VisComm - Postwar Era

World War II (WWII)

1939-1945

Effects of Post-WWII on Europe, Asia, and the United States?

Europe and Asia - Underwent reconstruction and reform

United States - Emerged as a dominant economic power

Graphic Design in the 1950s

• Global capitalism was on the rise

• Corporations began expanding and diversifying their product lines

• Corporate demand for “unified image” across products/services

• Graphic Design became recognized as a profession to help promote corporations

• Identity systems, branding, and packaging were established

Phototypesetting (or Photocomposition)

• A new printing technique in the mid-20th century

• Replaced letterpress printing

• Used negative, light-sensitive materials, and a light source so that texts and/or images could be photographed for mass printing

First phototypesetter, Lumitype-Photon

• Patented by Rene Higonnet & Louis Moyroud in 1946

Phototypesetter Effects

• Allowed designers to experiment more with composition

• Type could be manipulated, cut, pasted, bent, or rephotographed

International Style

1955-1975

International Style Movement

• International Style (or Swiss Style) emerged in Switzerland in the mid-1950s

• Inspired by Bauhaus, De Stijl, and New Typography

• Rational and reductionist approach

International Style Design

• Used grid structures, asymmetrical layouts, clean typography, absence of decoration or illustration, and spare use of color

• Fibonacci’s Sequence used as a guide for geometric composition

International Style Designers

• Josef Muller-Brockmann

• Emil Ruder

• Influenced designers in Europe and the United States to follow international style principles

Mind the Child Ad (Muller-Brockmann, 1955)

The Film Poster (Muller-Brockmann, 1959)

Giselle Poster (Armin Hofmann, 1959)

New Graphic Magazine (Carlo Vivarelli, 1959)

IBM Poster (Paul Rand, 1991)

Norma Lites (Burton Kramer, 1971)

Volkswagen Lemon Ad (Doyle Dane, 1960)

Change in Design (Mid-1900s)

• Magazine covers and layouts replaced text-driven content with image-driven content

• Posters and ads applied visual metaphor and symbols instead of heavy verbiage

• Logos and signs came with design guidelines for use in corporate practices

New York School

1950-1965

New York School Movement

• New York City became the epicenter of economic and cultural exchange

• Group of artists and designers working in and around New York rather than a creative movement, was a counterpoint to the International Style

• Designers adopted less formal and more intuitive styles of “less is more”, functionalism, and execution

Seventeen Magazine (Cipe Pineles, 1949)

Westvaco Magazine (Bradbury Thompson, 1953)

The Sound of Music (Herb Lubalin, 1965)

The Man with the Golden Arm (Saul Bass, 1955)

Fillmore

1965-1970

Fillmore Movement

• After WWII, a group of artists and authors gradually formed a counterculture known as the Beat Generation

• Went against conformity of mainstream culture and politics to embrace individual freedom

• Emerged in New York City and San Francisco (San Fran became the heart of the movement)

• Designers took part and made rock concert posters at the Fillmore Auditorium

• Style associated with anti-capitalism and rebellious spirit

Fillmore Design Style

• Psychedelic style

• Resembled work from the Art Nouveau movement

• Posters printed on small presses and offered an embodied perceptual experience, especially through the use of drugs

• Colors vibrate, type creates optical illusions, and images are provocative

• Organic style & cheap production rejected the rigid modernist approach and materialistic culture

The Association (Wes Wilson, 1966)

Various Artists (Rick Griffin, 1968)

The Miller Blues Band (Victor Moscoso, 1967)

The Chambers Bros (Victor Moscoso, 1967)

Protest

1963-1975

Protest Movement

• In 1965, the Unites States participated in the Vietnam War

• This provoked the public to organize mass protests by the late 1960s

• Designers participated to the protests by lending their skills

Protest Movement Designers and Style

• Designers saw opportunity and responsibility in pro bono work

• Guerrilla artists and designers made use of public spaces and transportation to display fliers and stickers

• Students also created and posted work

• Crude, aggressive, and graphic photography and illustration was largely used

• Message was concise with a call-to-action

• Style was raw, and focused on the urgency of the message

End Bad Breath (Seymour Chwast, 1968)

Vietnamese Women & Children (Wada, 1968)

And Babies? (Haeberle & Brandt, 1970)

Student Strike of 1970 (1970)