Saturday, April 27, 2024

A Look at Graphic Trends That Define the 70s Retro Fonts and More Envato Tuts+

1970s graphic design

Logos evolved beyond merely representing names into narratives communicating a brand's values, personality and aspirations. The classic Shell logo encapsulated this trend with its iconic seashell that implicitly suggested the company's connection to nature, the environment and ocean resources. Simple but symbolic, these logos became visual metaphors for the brand's ethos. Beyond functionality, the prevalence of geometric logos also aligned with the cultural ethos of the 1970s.

Periwinkle Groovy Font  (OTF, TTF)

If you want to go psychedelic for your next gig, album cover or video, check out this Psychedelic Music Flyer by Muhamadiqbalhidayat or these Colorful Psychedelic and Psychedelic Dance videos by nguluidu. Those who grew up with smartphones may find it difficult to imagine how life was in the 1970s. To put it into perspective, the internet was decades away from commercialization, and the dot com boom and “modern” technology were just beginning to bubble to the surface.

The 1950's Graphic Design Style

Needless to say, the retro design theme will unquestionably top the modern graphic design trends in 2024. Overall, graphic design in the 1970s fused art, music, and culture into iconic images that gave visual identity to the sounds and ethos of an eclectic, transformative decade. The era's bold aesthetic continues to influence artists and designers today.

Iconic 1970s Logos

Now Anyone Can Own NASA's Fabled 1970s Graphics Manual - WIRED

Now Anyone Can Own NASA's Fabled 1970s Graphics Manual.

Posted: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 07:00:00 GMT [source]

You can trace your characters by hand using the Pen Tool, or for a quicker workflow, use the Auto Trace tool. The 1970s are famous for bell-bottoms, roller skates, and disco balls, but it was also an era of progressive cultural change and technological innovation. Would you be interested if I told you I had a time machine to let you travel back in time? People loved expressing themselves through vivid colors, extraordinary florals, and angular shapes and embraced the vibrant tropical style. In contrast to the ’60s psychedelics, the 70s showcased simple and flat shapes, often arranged into recurring patterns and used in background art deco or home decor.

Women sit in protest during the Women Strike for Equality demonstration — emblematic of the growing power of the women’s rights movement throughout the decade — in New York’s Bryant Park on August 26, 1970. Graphic design has evolved over the years, often influenced by societal and cultural changes. IBM, founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, has undergone multiple logo changes throughout its long history. The company's original logo featured an ornate, almost Victorian-style design with flowing script lettering surrounded by floral embellishments. The 1971 rebrand proved tremendously successful at increasing recognition and enhancing Coca-Cola's global presence. Studies conducted in the mid-1970s revealed that the Coca-Cola symbol was recognised by more people worldwide than even major religious symbols.

Students learn typography, colour palettes, illustration styles, and layout techniques integral to 1970s aesthetics that still influence graphic design today. This pedagogy preserves the rich design heritage of the 1970s while equipping students to evolve its principles in the digital age. If you're a fan of movies, TV shows, or music videos, you've likely noticed copious references to 1970s style and culture.

Originating in the 60s, Cyberpunk was made famous in the 80s through the movie Blade Runner. In fact, many films, comic books, games, and designs that focus on futuristic high-tech, lawless societies, and big corporations originated from cyberpunk – and the trend is back with a vengeance. We’re seeing this sci-fi style reemerge in the present day with a nostalgic nod to the decade, as seen in this AKQA Illustration by Romain Billaud. To get a head start on typography for your next 70s inspired design, try Popstone – Groovy Family + Variable by creativemedialab or these 70s Retro Text Effects by Zeppelin_Graphics. You can see these colors in paisleys, mandalas, or other patterns of simple shapes used in posters, wallpapers, and carpets, among other places. In 1976, she moved to Los Angeles, California, and established her own studio, where she became the leading figure of emergent “NEW WAVE” design.

Self Help Graphics & Art

1970s graphic design

Disco contributed flowy, funky fonts inspired by neon lights, such as this ad for Silesta fabric shows. Graphic artists gravitated toward hand drawn lettering rather than printed typefaces from International Typographic Style. These contributions fall into the colorful category, often blended with the geometry or color bursts of psychedelia. The 1970s were a turbulent time of profound social change and upheaval. Coming on the heels of the radical 1960s, the decade saw the repercussions of the counterculture and civil rights movements continue to shape society.

This style of font is perfect for evoking a good vibe and making your designs stand out among the rest. Phototypesetting is an old method of setting type that uses a photographic process to generate columns of type on a scroll of photographic paper. Although this method was eventually replaced by computer software, it was revolutionary for graphic designers in the ‘70s.

Bright patterns and optical illusions that played with perception were common. The late 60s brought about a whole new style of design inspired by the psychedelic movement. The concise guide below traces the history of graphic design and social activism in Los Angeles from the 1960s to the present. It is as much a history of aesthetic innovations as of political movements like feminism, the Chicano Movement, and the struggle for queer rights. Several of these spaces have been operating for decades, growing their presence in a city that continues to use design as a democratic tool to expand representation. In short, the 1970s retains its position as a wellspring of inspiration for designers.

Throughout the 1970s, design mirrored a rapidly changing society and actively shaped the era's culture and politics. The bold, aggressive aesthetics in much activist graphic design starkly contrasted with the polished advertising imagery of the 1960s. For many designers, their work became an act of protest, challenging traditional hierarchies and giving voice to marginalised groups through impactful visual communication. Other designs, like Milton Glaser's psychedelic Bob Dylan poster or Sister Corita Kent's vibrant serigraphs containing social commentary, pushed boundaries in form and content. Music festivals like Woodstock, with specially designed posters and logos, also became visual touchpoints of the anti-establishment subculture.

A 1977 Craig Stereo advertisement featured Ray Charles promoting a stereo, emphasizing his name and face while downplaying other elements of the graphic design. This use of famous faces is something that has continued today in magazines, on TV or on social media. As we conclude our journey through the vibrant and innovative world of 1970s logos, it becomes evident that this era left an indelible mark on branding. The interplay of culture, design elements, and storytelling has continued to shape how we perceive and interact with logos in the modern age.

Along with portable cassette players, the first digital wristwatch, and Apple Computer 1 (Apple’s earliest product), new devices for typesetting were introduced. The Letraset and the Visual Graphics PhotoTypositor techniques emerged and provided greater freedom for designers. Creatives began breaking the conventions of typography with more irregular and varied letterforms. As a result, the lava lamp-inspired bubble lettering and free-form font swashes that capture the era were born, and continue to be popular typography choices today. Named after the creators of the Memphis group in Milan, it is said to be the pinnacle of 80s design aesthetics.

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