Poster Art

The Poster Designs for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Are Crazy – Awesome

I’m not sure what the selection criteria were for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but I’m digging the completely crazy set of images that were chosen. The styles range from Manga to Cubism to Surrealism and Photography. If you compare these to what we traditionally have gotten the Tokyo posters seem almost out of left field. Hat tip to the judges for taking a chance and choosing posters that are a reflection of Japanese culture, and that take a chance. You can see all of the posters here and read the artists statements about the works as well.

Infographics to geek out over.

I love a good infographic, and when they are executed by illustrators like Matt Taylor, Tom Whalen, and Kevin Tong you know they are gonna be amazing. Below are just a few of the geeky images that these three (info-rama) have teamed up with Mondo to do an art show specifically about infographics. Not just any infographics. Infographics for your inner geek, ranging from Star Wars, to Batman, to the Avengers and beyond. If you live in Austin, you might want to head over to Mondo Gallery on June 24 at 7pm for the Inforama opening. It looks like it is going to be a pretty fun show.

Steve Frykholm’s Picnic Posters for Herman Miller.

This just put a huge smile on my face. Produced by Dress Code this is the story of Steve Frykholm, Herman Miller’s first in-house graphic designer. Frykholm stayed with Herman Miller for 44 years working on internal projects for the company. One of his favorites, and the subject of this film, are the posters he created for the annual company picnic. This is the story of how the posters came to be, and their induction into the Museum of Modern Art. I love how Frykholm’s laid back attitude about how these came to be runs in stark contrast to the creative process of the digital age. There is no way a committee could have deluded his concepts with an endless sea of changes, revisions, and interjections. Because of it, the posters Frykholm created are as fresh and original today, as they were when he started making them in 1970.

New York, New York.

Illustrator and designer Remko Heemskerk has created a series of prints dedicated to New York City. The style is reminiscent of 20th century travel posters and poster art created by the WPA in the 1930’s and 40’s. Flattened and stylized with just enough detail. Limited, but bright color pallets that keep the images vibrant and fun. The series shows the wide range of architectural style prevalent in the city, some iconic others commonplace, all of them making up the whole of the city. The prints are available for purchase in a variety of sizes at inPrint if you are so inclined.