The History of Poster Design - A visual revolution
In the age of social media infographics and relentless advertising, the history of poster design can tell us a lot about where we came from and how we got to where we are.
A good poster can take a wealth of information and fit it all into an eye-catching, easily reproduced, immediately recognisable rectangular shape.
A great poster can leave its mark on history.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at 10 posters that have come to define this unique artistic medium:
Moulin Rouge - La Goulue - Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (1891)
Posters had been used to advertise events long before the 1890s, but French artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec took the art of poster design to bold new places with his work Moulin Rouge: La Goulue.
The poster, which advertised the French club Moulin Rogue, depicts the famous cancan dancer La Goulue with her partner, Valentin le désossé. The poster was a four-colour lithograph and it’s estimated that around 3,000 copies were printed and distributed around Paris.
Moulin Rouge – La Gouluewent went above and beyond its remit as a simple advertisement. It became a sensation on the streets of Paris, with many praising its evocativeness – how it captured the wildness of the dancers and pushed the boundaries in terms of artistic experimentation when it came to poster design.
Moulin Rouge, La Goulue – Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
JOB cigarette papers – Alphonse Mucha
Job (Cigarettes) - Alphonse Mucha (1898)
Many poster designers often wrestle with how to marry their unique artistic ideas with the practical or corporate demands of the subject matter they’re being asked to depict.
When it came to Alphonse Mucha, the idea of ‘compromise’ went straight out the window. An Art Nouveau artist from Czechoslovakia, Mucha’s poster was an advertisement for the ‘Job’ cigarette rolling paper company. In the poster, a woman with billowing hair is depicted in a loose gown with cigarette smoke swirling around her.
The poster was unique for the time, as women in this era didn’t normally smoke in public and wore their hair up in a more reserved way.
Mucha’s emphasis on bold colours, sensuality, and sexuality, was a daring move. In many ways, it also helped set a precedent – you didn’t need to stick to the rules when it came to advertising, and you didn’t need to sacrifice art for the sake of an effective poster.
Scandalous for its time, since no respectable woman would smoke in public let alone have her hair down, it signified a break from tradition.
Books! Across All Branches of Knowledge – Alexander Rodchenko
Books (Please) - Alexander Rodchenko (1924)
As one of the founders of the ‘constructivism’ branch of modern art, Russian artist Alexander Rodchenko has left an incomparable mark on photography and graphic design.
Much of his work was closely associated with propaganda, with his posters being used as an effective tool to help manufacture consent and inclusion in the early days of the Soviet Union.
But it is Rodchenko’s style that is so memorable. His use of sharp, straight lines, monochrome colours, unusual angles, and engaging social messages, all had a massive impact on poster design.
Rodchenko helped emphasise the political possibilities to be found in artistic poster design.
Metropolis - Heinz Schulz-Neudamm (1927)
With the growth of cinema in the early 20th century, posters became an important part of the marketing process. In some cases, posters even became more popular and had a greater legacy than the media they were intended to promote – showing the true power that good poster design can have.
The Metropolis poster, designed by Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, was used to promote Fritz Lang’s film of the same name. The poster was a perfect complement to the futurism and art-deco influences of the film.
It is an art piece in and of itself and has become possibly the most renowned movie poster in cinema history and indeed in the history of poster design.
Metropolis – Heinz Schulz-Neudamm
Normandie – Adolphe Cassandre
Normandie - Adolphe Cassandre (1935)
French artist Adolphe Mouron Cassandre was one of the 20th century’s most well-known poster artists.
As a designer, he managed to bring together an eye-catching, original style (influenced by Cubism and Art Deco), with a functionality that highlighted the subject matter he worked with.
In posters like ‘Normandie’, he showcased the impressiveness – and the wondrous beauty – of industry and machinery.
We can do it! - J. Howard Miller (1942)
When they’re made in the right way, wartime posters have a habit of leaving a real impression on history – and J. Howard Miller’s ‘We can do it!” poster is a testament to that.
The poster depicts a female war production worker in the U.S, during the midst of the Second World War.
Originally designed to promote a strong work ethos and to raise morale, the poster’s tough, bold depiction of womanhood has seen it being used to promote feminism and women’s liberation.
We can do it! – Howard Miller
Vertigo – Saul Bass
Vertigo - Saul Bass (1958)
Prior to Saul Bass, it was common practice for film posters to simply depict a scene or a striking visual from the film they were advertising.
Bass can claim to have helped break the mould. The American graphic designer went beyond simply depicting a scene, and instead tried to depict deeper feelings, themes, and ideas found in a film.
Take the ‘Vertigo’ poster. Dizzy swirls and striking colour contrasts aim to give the viewer the feeling of vertigo even before they’ve sat in their cinema seat…
Bob Dylan - Milton Glaser (1967)
Many artists have played their part in turning Bob Dylan into the counter-cultural icon that we know him as today.
Milton Glaser is one of these artists. Glaser designed a special image of Bob Dylan to go on the cover of his Greatest Hits album in 1967. The image depicts Bob Dylan silhouetted against a white backdrop, with his hair in a swirling kaleidoscope of colours.
In the 55 years since then, many have turned to this poster as a depiction of innovative psychedelic art.
Dylan – Milton Glaser
Pregnant Man – Saatchi & Saatchi
Pregnant Man - Saatchi & Saatchi (1970)
Anyone who has ever watched Mad Men will know that advertising companies dream of an ad that is so simple but so effective that it’s impossible to ignore.
American ad company Saatchi & Saatchi achieved such a dream with their ‘Pregnant Man’ poster, released in 1970.
Created for the Family Planning Association and released at a time when America was gripped by a debate about whether or not abortion should be legal, the poster was simple. It depicted a pregnant man, with the question: ‘Would you be more careful if it was you that got pregnant?’
A political masterstroke.
Hope - Shepard Fairey (2008)
American artist Shepard Fairey designed the ‘Hope’ poster for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008, immediately securing his place in the rich history of poster design.
The poster was iconic for several reasons. It wasn’t just that it was a striking stencil portrait or that it boasted an effective use of colours – it was the fact that this was entering the public consciousness at a time when social media and meme-making were about to take off. The poster was shared widely online, replicated on social media, and became an effective political marketing tool in a way that no one had really predicted.
In the years since, every politician in the world has tried to emulate this success.
HOPE – Shepard Fairey
Conclusion? Great posters find their place in history
The 10 posters listed above are merely a small snapshot of the fascinating history of poster design.
Most of us will be readily familiar with dozens of other iconic posters.
Uncle Sam wearing a blue blazer and starry top hat as he points out from a poster saying, “I want YOU for the U.S. Army.”
A pop-art royal crown sitting over the message “Keep calm and carry on”, emblazoned in capital letters against an all-red backdrop.
A dramatic sketch of an open-shirted Clark Gable lifting up a red dress-wearing Vivien Leigh, with the title of Gone With The Wind written above them in an Old Western-styled typeface.
When they’re good, posters are one of the best tools for communication. When they’re effective, posters have a powerful ability to reflect their time and place, as well as to leave a lasting mark on individuals and society as a whole.
