Expo '70 book

My good friend Chikara sent me this guidebook from the 1970 World's Fair and Expo, held in his hometown of Osaka Japan. The book is filled to the brim with watercolor illustrations of the different expo pavilions, logos and maps. I'm a huge fan of amusement park maps, so this was a real treat. Thanks Chikara!


Click for full view










Click for full view

Philately Fridays: Austria, 1983

I wish I had some OSPAAL-related postage to share today to close out this week, but this gorgeous gem from Vienna will have to do. It's from 1983, the year which the United Nations proclaimed as World Communications Year, or... Weltkommunikationsjahr. I really love the incredible color scheme and linework. Too good.

OSPAAAL Week: Day 3

Here are a few posters from a great book released by OSPAAAL a few years ago. 200 pages with tons of images and info.


Olivio Martinez, 1974.


Alfredo Rostgaard, 1970


Alfredo Rostgaard, 1972


Faustino Pérez, 1968.

OSPAAAL Week: Day 2

Of all the artists to design posters for OSPAAAL, my favorite my a wide margin is Alfredo Rostgaard (1943-2007). His illustration style and bold use of color show his strong pop art and psychedelic influences which, when combined with the social and political messages in his posters, made for some incredibly striking images.


1968


1969


1970


1971



1972, unfolds into:



Please check out Cuban Posters for more images and information!

OSPAAAL Week: Day 1

It's been hard to avoid Shepard Fairey's iconic HOPE poster featuring Barack Obama drawn up in red and blues. To many, the striking image has become synonymous with Obama's presidential campaign. Right now in our art gallery, we're featuring a collection of experimental Obama posters we've been printing for the better part of 2008 in our studio. We were fortunate enough to have a visit from Minneapolis' Mayor R.T. Rybak, who dropped by to see the exhibit and was blown away by all of the creative energy being focused on Obama. I mentioned to him that I had never seen anything like this for any politician in my lifetime. Mayor Rybak then made a reference to the solidarity posters from the 1960s and '70s. The Vietnam era was the last time politics and art had clashed in such an explosive and noteable way. During this time, dozens, if not hundreds, of posters were being designed and printed by a Cuban political group dedicated to defending human rights and fighting globalization. The group, known as OSPAAAL (Organization of Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa, and Latin America) produced some of the most striking and well-designed political posters, and I'll be sharing them with you over the course of this week. Please enjoy!


designed by Helena Seranno, 1982


Day of Solidarity with the People of Japan
designed by Guillermo Menéndez, 1969


Day of Solidarity with the People of Laos
Jesus Forjans, 196?

Many more to come! Stay tuned!

Philately Fridays: United States, 1971

Boom. Killer color scheme, bold design, well-placed Helvetica, a message I can get down with, aaaaaand that's pretty much a wrap for me.

LOGO WARS

Judge's (designed by David Leigh)



VS L'eggs (designed by Herb Lubalin)

Nesbitt's Orange Soda

Groovy packaging design for Nesbitt's Orange Soda from 1979.



Also found this cool animated Nesbitt's TV spot. Very R Crumb inspired...

Charley Harper for the National Park Service

Charley Harper was one of the most uniquely talented illustrators of the 20th century. From the 1950s up until his death in 2007, Harper created a seemingly endless amount of gorgeous posters and other illustrations depicting animals, plantlife, and other natural forms. Whereas many artists would put microscopic detail into their renderings of leaf veins and housefly eyeballs, Harper was more interested in the general geometric shapes of animals and plants, breaking them down to their most simple forms. He said he didn't count feathers, he counted wings.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Charley Harper completed ten posters for the US National Park Service, each focusing in on a specific ecosystem and its inhabitants. Prints of some of these are available online. Ask your buddy Google for help.







If you're serious about wanting to see more of Harper's beautiful artwork, Todd Oldham compiled a fantastic and gigantic book (over 400 pages!!!) which was released last year. It is available through YouWorkForThem

Philately Fridays: Tunisia, 1983

Psychedelic mayhem designed for the Tunisian Red Crescent in 1983. Wow.