Table Of Content

Logos became less about the elaborate and more about the core idea's essence. It was as if they were shedding their extravagant coats and embracing a minimalistic approach. Think about the iconic logos of that time—Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Ford, and so many others. These logos exuded confidence and familiarity, appealing to consumers on both a rational and emotional level. They became symbols of an era of progress, prosperity, and a belief in a brighter future.
Fifties Typeface (TTF, OTF, WEB)
Also, the Swiss style contributed to the development and spread of minimalism as a mass artistic doctrine.[38] It is believed that it was the Swiss style that formed the basis of the modern computer design system, in particular Flat Design. Alongside this, Art Nouveau was still widely popular with artists in European cities. And, while the style was ornamental in nature, its emphasis on individualism and organic forms gave an expressive beauty and visual strength to buildings and décor. The graphic emphasis of posters produced in this period by artists like Alphonse Mucha laid the foundations of commercial advertising design for the coming decades. Mackintosh and others, such as textile designer William Morris and architect Baillie Scott, strove to simplify the ornate forms of 19th century decorative arts and furniture. Many British creatives were drawn to the Arts and Crafts movement, which aspired to raise design to the level of art.
Take a look at design through the decades from the 1900s up to the present-day in the first of this two-part series.

Whether you want to create advertisements evocating the golden bygone era or add a touch of whimsy and fun to your designs, the Surfnik typeface is your go-to font. With a complete set of uppercase and lowercase characters, numerals, punctuation, language support, and symbols, you’ll have all the holiday typeface you need to take your designs to the next level. Plus, this font comes equipped with various custom ligatures and underlines to help you easily create unique, eye-catching designs.
A Guide to Vintage Design Styles
His work in the 1950s included iconic logo designs for companies such as IBM, ABC, and UPS, characterized by their bold, simple forms and limited color palettes. Join us as we look back on the movements, styles, and artists of the decade that profoundly altered the world of graphic design. Despite the current return to grungy Y2K styles, the 1950s remains a point of reference and a treasure trove of inspiration for today’s graphic designers. During WWII, graphic designers, illustrators, and artists used their talents to disseminate information and propaganda.
He synthesized the ideas of European avant-garde art movements, such as Cubism, Constructivism and De Stijl to produce his own distinctive graphic language. He also served as an art director, teacher, writer, and design consultant to companies such as IBM and UPS. All in all, he was a major force and influence in the field of graphics and visual communication. Cipe Pineles is one of the most prominent designers in the 1950s whose design portfolio extends over a lot of high profile magazines, such as Vogue and Seventeen. She’s the first female designer to be a member of the Art Directors Club in New York.
Art Nouveau is still a go-to style for contemporary designers looking to inject romanticism and beauty into their work. Menus, invitations, and posters will all benefit from a dose of Art Nouveau styling. Letterpress is one of the oldest printing techniques, using a method of relief printing to create an engraved color effect. The effect adds an appealing hand-done look to designs, which makes it a great pairing for vintage-style layouts. Ornate borders and ribbons, along with hand-drawn serif typefaces and a busy text-filled layout, take direct inspiration from styles that were popular in the 19th Century.

Top Designers of the 1950s
As popular music became increasingly culturally significant, graphics for the recording industry emerged as a locus of design creativity. One Push Pin Studio founder, Milton Glaser, captured the imagination of a generation with his stylized curvilinear drawing, bold flat colour, and original concepts. You can see this guide as an inspiration melting pot for your own vintage designs.
Logos: Iconic 50s Logo Design, Examples, and Inspiration
The one created during the 50s was an abbreviated version, with the lowercase initials "fp" in separate colored bubbles. Sweden's most famous typeface designer, Karl-Erik Forsberg, redesigned the Volvo logo in 1959. The logo has gone through many changes, but the one developed during the 50s is a clear example of the minimalist influence in European countries. The logo is simplified, and a new font was developed to create a heavy, strong, and impactful logo.
Design History – 40s & 50s the age of the Graphic Designer
Designers like Paul Rand, Milton Glasser, and Saul Bass were amongst the most famous and were influenced by the International Typographic Style. The simplicity of the style led them to create posters and brand logos that were extremely simple and visually transformed design. 1950s graphic design was dominated by American innovations inspired by European Avante-Garde modern approaches. Because of this interesting development, several influential designers emerged, and American designers created a unique style during the period. In fact, it would be accurate to say that the celebration of sans-serif type is one of the defining aspects of the Swiss Design style. Typefaces such as Helvetica, Univers, and Frutiger are all fonts created in the era.
With a delicate yet bold balance between retro and modern design, Mimosa presents an incredible opportunity to add a touch of vintage flair to your design projects. One of the most enduring elements of this period is the typography, with its distinctive lettering that captures the fun and audacity of the time. In this article, we’ve curated the top 10 vintage 1950s fonts that will transport you back to this exciting era and add a touch of retro charm to your design projects.
It’s this vintage/modern balance that makes a style look ‘vintage’ and not outdated. This Retro Skull Rider logo includes colors that were popular in 1950s style logo design. This retro logo design is the perfect balance of 1950s logo design and a contemporary aesthetic. A bold and captivating typeface is ideal for adding a touch of sophistication to your projects, no matter the medium.
Let’s explore three of the other creative minds who shaped mid-century style and design. Beall successfully merged traditional design elements with emerging modernist trends. He was known for his innovative use of photomontage, typography, and bold color, which were considered modern techniques at the time. One pioneering graphic designer known for blending traditional and modern techniques is Lester Beall, whose work in the 1930s through the 1950s significantly influenced the visual language of American graphic design. Matter was adept at using the latest printing techniques to enhance the visual impact of his work. He was particularly known for his work in the field of advertising, where he applied advanced photographic and printing methods to create strikingly modern designs.
Retro Graphic Design Takes Flight in the Golden Era of Airline Posters - PRINT Magazine
Retro Graphic Design Takes Flight in the Golden Era of Airline Posters.
Posted: Sat, 16 Feb 2019 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Clean sans-serif fonts dominated the scene, emphasising legibility and simplicity. Art Nouveau fell from favor during the Art Deco period, but this romantic, ethereal vintage design style has since been revived during the 1970s (when it was popularised by fashion house Biba) and more recently in web and brand design. These retrofuturistic rockets are an example of the retro graphic design style, using 1960s references to create designs with an exaggerated retro look. Steampunk was a popular revival design style during the 1970s and 1980s, with its visual aesthetic, steampunk vintage style illustration, and retro style design used in a number of post-apocalyptic movies such as Mad Max (1979) and Time Bandits (1981).
And the minimalist aesthetic that made their products super-distinctive was also represented in their branding, including this 1952 logo designed by Wolfgang Schmittel. "In a time of rapid globalisation, the globe that had no borders was charged with optimism, marking the start of a new age of air travel," she adds. "This iconic logo resonated so much with its consumers that the design remained largely the same following this 50s redesign."
The sans serif font style is depicted perfectly, and the script font adds balance to these retro logo designs. 1950s graphic designers for this style focused on turning complex ideas into simple visual forms. The style eschews ornamentation and favours straight lines and clean geometric shapes, giving mid-century illustrations a clean, minimalist look. Bauhaus is a niche design style inspired by an art school in Germany that was widely influential during the 1920s and 1930s. A founder of Modernism in Germany, the Bauhaus movement championed simple, minimal graphics and bold, poster-box colors. Pop Art was booming, and people had more time to create elaborate marketing campaigns.
Sign up for our free newsletters to get the latest art news, reviews, and opinions from Hyperallergic. Detail of DCW Side Chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946, Design Museum. Detail of House of Cards, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1986, Design Museum. Detail of La Chaise, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1948, Design Museum. This collection features 25 playful patterns of bubble-gum pinks, sky blues, sunny oranges, and moody mauves. Retrofuturism is a related trend, not particular to Victorian references, which creates interpretations of the future from the perspective of an earlier era.
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