Moments in Time
25 March 2024
*created by canva ai*
Over the last 10 decades, graphic design and typography have been cultural landmarks that have stood the test of time. By looking at several pieces of art and typography from each decade, one can decide what decade they are created in and what style was popular. Many popular graphic design and typography trends can mirror what is going on in society, like how art nouveau and art deco was popular in the 1920s and 1930s. I am going to be discussing four trends/periods of design that I find the most interesting and captivating, with a little history lesson thrown in there as well!
The first design style I love is “Art Nouveau” and “Art Deco”, both popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Even though these design styles are classified as two different styles, I think they can be discussed together. While looking deeper into the world and backstory of the “Art Deco” style, I found an article explaining multiple different design trends of the past 10 decades. According to Grace Fussell of envatotuts.com, “Poster artists embraced the Art Deco style wholeheartedly, focussing on creating strong graphic layouts, with rich colour palettes and geometric type graphic art styles.” A great example of what Grace discusses is a travel poster created by Victoria Railways in Australia. Additionally, the famous 19th century Russian artist, designer, photographer, polemist and architect, Lazar (El) Lissitzky, had developed a crucial “list of requirements” for what he constitutes as “good typography. His list as followed:
“1) Printed words are seen and not heard; 2) Concepts are communicated through words and letters; 3) Concepts should be expressed with the greatest optical (not phonetic) economy; 4) The lay-out must reflect the content’s rhythm; 5) Sequence of pages are like a cinematograhical book; 6) The page and the endless number of books must be overcome.” Another great example of the art deco style and 1920s graphic design is a piece created by El Lissitzky himself. The geometric shapes and bold but limited color palette exemplifies the design style of the decade.
“Many popular graphic design and typography trends can mirror what is going on in society.”
My second favorite design/ typography trend is from the 1960s. When one thinks about the 1960s, two things can probably come to mind: 1. Hippie Revolution and 2. Modernism. These are the exact two different design trends that I fell in love with when I first discovered graphic design. The 1960s was a very interesting decade for graphic design and many more things, but like society at that time, graphic design styles/trends were split into two categories. One avenue graphic designers went down was Modernist. This style of graphic design was reminiscent of the simplistic style of the 1950s. The reminiscence of the simple and “modern” style that was popular in the 50s spilled into the 1960s. On the other hand, the other style/trend was a direct response to the “restrictions” that were involved in the Modernist/traditional style. According to Grace Fussell of envatotuts.com, “Graphic design merged with art, as designers and illustrators became more experimental and threw out the traditional rule books preaching grid structures and ordered layouts. A rainbow of acid colours, fluid lines, and trippy patterns came to define the look of the pop culture scene of the Sixties, and it’s still much more evocative of the Sixties in popular culture today than its modernist counterpart.” For example, a San Francisco publishing company published a great representation from 1967 of the “experimental” design trend of the decade. I also find trend cycles can be present in the graphic design world. A lot of the ‘counterculture’ designs were inspired by the ‘Art Nouveau’ style that was popularized in the 1920s and 1930s, which is probably why I am drawn to the 1960s styles.
My third and last design style that I love is one from the 1980s. Memphis-Milano style is a design trend that many people automatically come to mind when thinking about the 1980s and the design styles from that decade. According to the founder of designbro.com, “Starting with the Memphis design movement, led by Italian architect, designer, and photographer Ettore Sottsass, the 80s postmodern design style was established and has remained in many of the works we see today. Unsurprisingly, many designers still recall their influential characteristics and continue to enthusiastically reach out to them.” This design movement drew inspiration from the 1960s with breaking free from the modern style, which focused heavily on rules. With the use of bright and vibrant colors, crazy graphic patterns, and unique geometric shapes, the 1980s have a very distinct style almost everyone can recognize. One example that represents this style is the original MTV logo. Again, designbro.com discusses the MTV logo further, “MTV’s logo represented the “M” as a piece of furniture with Memphis Design adorning the upholstery, spreading the design”.
Hi there! I’m Lauren Melville.
I love to delve deep into the world of graphic design, exploring areas like branding, typography, and advertising campaign strategies.