A Brief History of the Poster

The International Poster Gallery has a nice, brief history of the poster.  Vintage posters are highly collectible and sought after.  Businesses that sell vintage posters are usually a good source of information and history, as they want to educate and instill value to their customers.  They include very helpful style primers. Their collection ranges from the 1800's through contemporary posters, across many genres, with hand-painted, photography, and typography solutions all evident.  There is much to explore: musical posters from jazz to opera, a fine Russian collection, travel and great photo montage posters, and a fantastic collection of Post-Modern and Pop-Art posters. This is a must-visit site and and incredible resource.

Questions:   How do posters reflect, as well as shape, culture?  After exploring this site, how effective are the posters that use typography as the primary design element?  Are there any particular design rules that lead to successful posters (i.e. proportion, contrast, color)?

Posters + Communism

This site from The International Institute of Social History, titled: The Chairman Smiles, explores the role of the poster in the 3 dominant communist societies: the USSR, China, and Cuba.  It is a fascinating look at the design sensibilities of the genre, and the similarities + differences between them.  We will compare + contrast these posters and their characteristics with those of the United States and Germany during World War II.

Which leads us to some questions: How does a work's  subject matter or back story affect its legitimacy and artistic merit?  How are the ideals of communism reflected in the design?  Are there different design concerns versus a poster from the United States?

Early History of The Poster

Here is a link to Design History, a site giving a fantastic overview of the early history + development of poster art. This has a great timeline and you are able to see different movements, important artists, how the art form developed, and why.

Mucha, La Dame aux Camélias, 1896
The Mucha Foundation

Question:  Why would established fine artists employ the poster as a vehicle for their art? How does technological development affect an art form?