Saturday, April 27, 2024

Retro Design Trends: Rewind to the 60s, 70s and 80s Design

1970s graphic design

Her experimental and rule-breaking approach fundamentally challenged the status quo of graphic design in the late 20th century. Milton Glaser is a legendary graphic designer whose creativity and vision have left an indelible mark on the design world. He is perhaps best known for creating the iconic “I ♥ NY” logo in 1977, which has since become a globally recognised symbol of New York City. These movements sparked broader questions about identity, power structures, and human rights. Activists challenged traditional social norms and values, speaking out against war, environmental destruction, and other injustices.

Exploring 70s graphic design trends

Sometimes, it’s considered as the century’s “dark horse or black sheep” despite the colorful designs and rounded types that dominated the era. But at its best, the 1970s was high calibre and fearless in terms of design. However, we can’t deny that it still provides a lot of inspiration for today’s graphic designers looking for a retro touch. Geometric patterns covered a plethora of album covers, book covers, and  advertisements, always in multi-colors, typically gold, yellow, orange, hot pink, and sometimes blue and green. Many food products and theatrical advertisements used this style, as did product packaging, infusing store shelves with rainbow colors.

Graphic Design: A Rundown of 1970s Style

Serif fonts with delicate flourishes and ornate styling reflected the last vestiges of 1960s psychedelia. However, as the decade progressed, simple and streamlined sans-serif fonts emerged. This type of attractive font is great for a design that wants to communicate the true vintage 70s logo style. If you’re inspired to create graphics with photos, discover how you can play around with imported images in Vectornator in our Learning Hub.

Groovy (OTF, TTF)

Hippie and disco were just a couple of ’70s trends that had a major impact on the visual world. While perceived through a modern lens, artists, companies, and audiences are embracing the retro graphic design style with open arms. Even the world’s biggest brands, such as Nike, Pepsi, and even the fashion powerhouse Gucci, have integrated retro designs into their marketing, packaging, and advertising campaigns.

Nixon, NASA, And How The Federal Government Got Design - Fast Company

Nixon, NASA, And How The Federal Government Got Design.

Posted: Mon, 06 Mar 2017 08:00:00 GMT [source]

From album covers to video games, web designs, and art pieces, you can see cultural trends that were inspired by retro designs. It was defined by color combinations so random that it has taken full swing with a huge comeback in the current world. Major brands are bringing back 1970s-era logos, packaging, and advertising styles to appeal to consumers who fondly remember these designs from their youth. PepsiCo recently reintroduced its 1970s logo and slogans for limited-edition packaging, which sparked nostalgia among Gen X consumers.

Hundreds Take to City College in Art-Filled Gaza Solidarity Encampment

Fonts from 1970s logo designs were flowy and organic, often taking inspiration from Art Nouveau. There were plenty of bubble-style fonts, reverse contrast characters, and scripts. Fans of the ‘70s know that the era was all about pushing the limits of design. From attention-grabbing posters and psychedelic vinyl covers to fashion fads and colorful interiors, the dizzying designs of the time defined the energy of the decade.

Typography and Lettering

1970s graphic design

Burnt orange elicited feelings of cosiness and nostalgia for simpler times. Disco-era metallics mirrored the glittering escapism of the dance floor. Psychologists believe colour can impact moods and emotions, so 1970s designers harnessed this power through strategic colour choices. We hope you enjoyed travelling back in time with us to explore the most iconic retro trends making a comeback in 2020. An era that brought us hair metal, synth-pop, hip-hop beats, and lovelorn ballads, there’s no question that the 80s were an incredibly diverse time for music. Gracing us with the likes of The Cure, Whitney Houston, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, and ACDC, the 80s decade was a big turning point for the development of digital music.

These 80s tropical design representations were widely seen in film posters, album covers, and home decor. Nostalgia has a unique approach to connecting people across different generations. While Gen Z kids may have no clue about old-school 70s art trends, today’s retro design emerged in the late 1950s and brings together both Gen Z and Millennials to embrace the retro theme. The retro style utilizes forgotten trends and characteristics used by older designers, showcasing an updated version of them. The primary focus here is to evoke a sense of nostalgia in the viewers, eliciting an emotional appeal to the particular design artwork. If you want to learn more about 70s design styles, as well as other retro styles from the 60s and 80s, check out our blog post on retro design trends.

Influence of Postmodernism

This workshop will provide you with essential knowledge and skills to create memorable logos and develop a strong brand identity for your creative business. A swash is a typographical flourish that exaggerates the serifs of a character. They were first seen in the decorative Art Nouveau design elements of the 19th century but were revived in the ‘70s. Swirling serifs and elaborate ligatures brought letterforms to life, capturing the eccentric “look at me” attitude of the era.

Disco is a subculture and genre of dance music that emerged in the ‘70s from the nightlife scene in the United States (think ABBA, Donna Summer, and Chic). Inspired by the neon lights at the parties, these multi-line, all-caps fonts instantly evoke the vibrant energy of the ‘70s. Dry-transfer lettering sheets made by a company called Letraset meant that all kinds of fonts and elements could be transferred onto a designer’s page. The user would simply lay the pre-made film onto a sheet of paper and carefully rub the front of the sheet with a blunt pencil or ballpoint pen.

The 1970s was a transformative decade of social change and activism in the United States. The civil rights movement, which began in the 1950s, continued to fight for racial equality and justice. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and groups like the Black Panthers pushed for reforms to combat institutional racism against African Americans. The women's liberation movement also gained momentum as women fought against gender discrimination and sought equal rights and opportunities. Psychedelic design is still a big trend today, defined by its fluid shapes, hand-drawn typography, vibrant color, and dream-like themes. Going hand in hand with Optical Art is the Kaleidoscopic Patterns trend.

What unifies the work is, “the degree of passionate engagement with the material, and with the things that graphic design could do at that time, which are different than what we see today,” Wild explains. How Japanese design influenced design elsewhere included a new set of colors that go well together, centered icons and symmetry. In the 1960s, the psychedelic style that went along with the hippy movement grew. That continued into the 1970s, tied into the other stylistic choices that designers of that time were making. Some of the most famous album covers come from the 1970s, from Sex Pistols and The Ramones to the Rolling Stones and David Bowie.

Although we'd probably change the photo today, the rest of this Apple computer ad from 1977 could still run in a magazine today. Extravagance showed in everything in the 1970s, even in graphic design. The hippie movement contributed to the bright colors and lent the tie-dye phenomenon to virtually everything from lunchboxes to dresses.

We believe in creating remarkable design experiences, going beyond the boundaries of technology to create provocative web design & branding that gets noticed. Our clients trust us to deliver inspired creativity unique to them, service that's personal and responsive, and expectations and costs that are transparent. We strive to create work that's not only authentic and bold - but impactful. For more 70’s graphic design and 70’s inspired design, head to our Pinterest board.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Disney Dreamlight Valley: Breaking The Code Quest Guide

Table Of Content Europe's best new building Disney Dreamlight Valley: How To Unlock Gaston What would a majordomo under an Enchantress’s...