tara gerke, fall 2012

MUSIC

A CENTURY OF TYPE

THROUGH

PROJECT OVERVIEW

This past semester I came to the realization that I am ex-

tremely interested in typography and the way art styles have

developed over time. Due to my newfound interest, I decided

to create a poster series of a century of typography. I was

initially inspired by the Sony Records music timeline which

demonstrates music development through song titles. After

researching this project, I decided to use popular songs

from each decade to represent the evolution of type. When

I first began, I knew that there would be dozens of styles for

each decade, but I also knew that I only had three weeks to

complete this project. Thus, in lieu of saving time, I decided

to focus on one style from each decade. I hope one day I

can elaborate on this book and create a much more in depth

version of the project, but until then; enjoy!

1900-1910 OVERVIEW

At the start of the 20th century the Art Nouveau period was

in one of its prime moments as it spread to America through

the covers of magazines including Harpers and Scribners.

Art Nouveau descended from the Arts and Crafts movement

which originated in the late 19th century. Art Nouveau was

the first style that beautified industrial products and was the

first international style used by all of Europe and America. It

was a rebellion against Victorian sensibilities and used lots

of energetic and organic plant-like vines in artwork.

1900-1910 INSPIRATION

F.A. Mills, 1904

1910-1920 OVERVIEW

Every nation that participated in World War I which lasted

from 1914 until 1918 used propaganda posters. These posters

were used to justify each nation’s involvement and to gather

men, money and resources for their military. The United

States, who didn’t join the war until April of 1917 produced

more propaganda posters than any other single nation. At

the time, much of America was not eager to enter the war

so these posters were especially necessary to convince citi-

zens to support the war. The American propaganda posters

used bold styles in order to get their message across in the

simplest way. They almost always included the prominent

American colors of Red, White, and Blue. The famous Uncle

Sam’s “I Want You” poster first appeared in World War I.

1910-1920 INSPIRATION

AMERICAN FOLKLORE 1917

1920-1930 OVERVIEW

In the mid-1920’s, the style now known as Art Deco was

developing. Art Deco began about 1925 and lasted until

1940. The style uses geometric shapes, strong vertical lines,

Egyptian zigzags, sunbursts, bold curves, and patterns. This

period had one of the largest impacts on typography. The

typefaces often used thick base forms with filler shapes and

lines. Broadway is one of the typefaces that was devised

during this period that is often used today. Art Deco is one

of the first art periods that was not based on political ideol-

ogy. It quickly gained popular acceptance and was present

in people’s everyday lives. Art deco is known for representing

luxury, extravagance, and glamour. This style embraced the

machine-age culture, consumerism and speed as it was the

complete embodiment of modernism.

1920-1930 INSPIRATION

25‘

1930-1940 OVERVIEW

The 1930’s to 1940’s was a continuation of the Art Deco Style.

By the 1930’s popular culture had completely embraced Mod-

ernism. When the Great Depression hit, American Art Deco

displayed beauty and strength in a time that America was

falling apart. Products and advertisements were designed to

give hope for a better future. As World War II drew near, the

Art Deco styles faded out as new designs and World War II

propaganda took the lead.

1930-1940 INSPIRATION

SOMEWHEREOVER THE RAINBOW

WAY UP HIGHTHERE’S A LAND THAT I HEARD OF

ONCE IN A LULLABY.SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

SKIES ARE BLUEAND THE DREAMS

REALLY DO COME TRUETHAT YOU DARE TO DREAM

1940-1950 OVERVIEW

World War II began September of 1939 and ended exactly

six years later in 1945. American propaganda was used to

create hate for the enemy and support for America’s allies.

These posters urged public effort for war production and

promoted money saving movements including victory gardens

and recycling. World War I posters had been considered a

violation of basic rights and misinformation, so at first the

American government was reluctant to create propaganda

for the Second World War. When the government eventu-

ally did create posters promoting the war, they insisted they

were only providing information. The United States produced

more propaganda posters than any other country just like

World War I. Over 200,000 designs were printed. World War

II propaganda was very bright and bold, portraying War as

a good thing. Just like World War I, American propaganda

continued to use the red, white, and blue colors although

yellow was oftentimes added as an additional color.

1940-1950 INSPIRATION

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Andrews Sisters 1941

HE WAS A FAMOUS TRUMPET MAN

HE WAS THE TOP MAN AT HIS CRAFT

HE’S THE

THAT NO ONE ELSE COULD PLAY

FROM OUT CHICAGO WAY

HE HAD A

BUT THEN HIS NUMBER CAME UP

AND HE WAS GONE WITH THE DRAFT

HE' IS IN THE ARMY NOW

A BLOWIN REVEILLE

1950-1960 OVERVIEW

The 1950’s were a very energetic time in the United States.

Although the Cold war was present with the imminent nuclear

threat, the overall outlook was very positive as the United

States thrived in post-World War II recovery. Design was

influenced by technology, space exploration, and science.

Although design was innovative, it still had a very classic ap-

peal. There were three prominent color trends used in 1950’s

design; pastel, modern and Scandinavian. The popular pastel

colors included pink, turquoise, pale green, yellow and blue.

Modern colors were very bright and clean including vibrant

yellows, blues, oranges and reds alongside black and white.

The Scandinavian color schemes were strongly influenced

by nature including brown, cream, gray and green. Design

was bold and confident as America moved forward with

newfound morale.

1950-1960 INSPIRATION

around the

clocktonight

around the

clocktonight

we’re gonna

rockwe’re gonna

rock

Bill Haley & the Comets 1957Bill Haley & the Comets 1957

1960-1970 OVERVIEW

The 1960’s was a time for massive change both socially and

technologically. It was the age of youth as the baby boomers

from World War II grew from children to adults. The space race

had begun, the Cold War was ever present, and jet airplanes

were faster than ever. The 1960’s is often remembered as a

time of rebellion as the younger generations rebelled against

traditions of the older generations. This rebellion impacted

everything from music to home decorations. Modernism and

abstract expressionism were on the rise. New viewpoints

were celebrated and tradition was trashed. Design was a

way to provoke reaction and to escape from details. Artists

attempted to inspire viewers to experience art in their own

way. Pop art was rising alongside assemblage art, optical art

and kinetic abstraction. The 60’s evolved into a psychedelic

movement focused on experimentation and freedom.

1960-1970 INSPIRATION

1970-1980 OVERVIEW

The 70’s brought on a mix of nature based art and clash-

ing colors. Although the 1960’s used many San-Serif fonts,

including the brand-new Helvetica which was designed in

1957, the 1970’s brought on more rounded, organic typefaces.

The 1970’s carried on the rebellion and experimentation of

the 1960’s. There was a growing disillusionment of govern-

ment along with advances in civil rights, women’s rights and

space exploration. The 1970’s refined the avant-garde trends

of the 1960’s leaving us with a legacy of remembering the

seventies as the “groovy” period.

1970-1980 INSPIRATION

1980-1990 OVERVIEW

The 1980’s was a generation of people seeking status as

a new breed of billionaires was formed. The richest people

were more important than the largest companies. Binge buy-

ing and credit cards were on the rise. The Baby Boomers

were continuing into adulthood and were often tagged as

the “splurge generation.” The decade began with enormous

levels of inflation and continued with Reagan declaring a

war on drugs, employment at all-time highs and AIDS scar-

ing the population. The eighties was a huge period for art

as artists continued to push the boundaries and museums

and art auctions became popular. The 1980’s design styles

were brash and all about getting attention with bold, neon

colors and jagged typography.

1980-1990 INSPIRATION

1990-2000 OVERVIEW

The 1990’s was the growing electronic age. The World Wide

Web was developed in 1992 and cell phones became widely

popular in the late 90’s. The internet strongly influenced

products as every company tried to make their mark on

the web. Stylistically, the 1990’s approached a shift into

Post-Modernism as designers in this decade gathered and

combined multiple elements from various styles into their

design. The 90’s introduced Photoshop and many other vari-

ous graphics editing programs which revolutionized graphic

design. Grunge textures were popularly used amongst artists

and typography hit an all-time high.

1990-2000 INSPIRATION