Postmodern

Postmodern 1975-1990

The postmodern era was made up of designs that went against the Swiss/International period and re-established interest in ornamentation, symbolism and visual wit. Designs from this era incorporated humour and consisted of many funny designs.
Elements within this era included:
- Geometric shapes
- Loose collaged approach
- Spontaneous brush strokes
- Energetic
- Various textures
- Overprinted colours
- Spaced typography
- Expressive lines

This is a piece by Wolfgang Weingart who was a teacher at Switzerland's Basel School of Design and was a major influence on the Postmodern era. His designs reflected geometric shapes, a collaged look and energetic colours. In the above design he used a stepped approach in the bottom right hand corner that leads the eye back up the page to encourage the audience to read the poster again. I like this poster as it is playful and energetic and perfect for reflecting this era.

This is a piece by April Greiman, who was one of Wiengart's students and is known to be one of the best female graphic designers in history. She has created the stepped approach by using expressive lines and has also created a collaged effect by layered certain elements on top of each other. Another element of this piece that reflects the Postmodern era is the spontaneous brush strokes that add flashes of vibrant colours. The function of this poster is to promote the 'China Club' (Nighclub) in Los Angeles. Her approach is somewhat simple but effective as it still manages to convey a fun feeling.