Contemporary

1975 - Present

The Contemporary era is still happening now and it is important to realise that what is considered ‘contemporary’ may be very different 20 years from now. The current contemporary style is clean and simple and reflects what is currently in style.
Common elements within contemporary design:
- Grid layout that creates order and structure
- Professional designs created by good use of white space & clear typography
- Simple & easy to understand information
- Creative typography and minimalistic layouts
- Clean block colours
- Many contemporary designs also use hand rendered text

The above is a spread from Rolling Stones magazine produced in 1990. This magazine is known for often breaking new ground as far as typography goes. In this design the spread goes over two pages. It reflects the contemporary look as it is made of clean colours, clear typography & good use of white space. I like this spread because it encourages the reader to look deeper to see the meaning, which is what good design is all about.

This is a design by Michael Schwab that uses silhouettes, clear flat colours (inspired by the Art Deco look) and clear typography. Many of Schwab's designs used a silhouette element to convey a clean and clear layout: making them easy to follow and understand. I like this poster basically because it is so obvious and unlike many designs, you don't have to look too hard to find its meaning.