‘ree carne re Going New-School with Old-School Design sone 14, 2012 ¢ WHY THEN IS NOW - onvenience in today’s world has been both a benefit and a ‘burden to society. The advancement of communications technology from social networking to electronic media to instant messaging. Fast food restaurants, and convenience stores selling ready-to-eat meals and instant beverages. Ready- to-wear clothing stores and even Greeting cards have made modern living much casier, yet because ofthis we tend to dismiss the care and effort that has been put into creating such products that they begin to lose their overall value, Se consider the problem to be Mass Marketing, wherein a company will try to appeal to a wide market with only one offer or strategy and ignore other market segments, which often results of large demand thatthe company rust address to retain profitability. Unfortunately, this often resort to cost-cutting to save money through the use of sub-standard materials, making their products obsolete for the sake of future sales. As a result, the value of the product deteriorates and the market eventually becomes indifferent to the product. As the saying goes, people often laments that “they don't make them like they used to” and yearn to revive the era of bygone days when items were made with care and duality was always guaranteed. Hence the revival of the retro trend. [ns such as entertainment, fashion and online commerce have capitalized ‘on this trend with the resurgence of vintage fashions, as well as the revival of ld tv shows and characters in recent movies, along with the populaity of contemporary TV shows and video games with a retro theme. While online enterprises such as eBay and Etsy.com have sparked further interest in vintage and handmade items. G raphic designers have long recognized this trend and have used this in Rep creating contemporary designs that reflects the old-school look, when DEN IO everything was still custom-made for each person and not fora specific consumer bracket. ‘The authenticity of the overall look can help emphasize your message to your target audience and can even help them relate easily to your design. Even the simple handwritten postcard can carry more personality and elegance that a text message or e-mail could ever have. There does one start? What makes a design reflect a bygone era you wish to recreate? Faded images and models with retro-inspired fashions can help but these alone may not be enough. The right font, the right colors, and even the events and pop culture that were making news during the past century all have an influence in recreating the past in graphic design. In the next few pages, we have compiled a small guide to some of the elements to help you create your take ‘on Old-School design. This guide is not meant to be the ultimate designer's ‘guidebook but a small sample of how design evolved during the past decades. at Raat Ay171m Graphic Bxro Going New-School with Old-School Design EARLY 1800°S-1910'S Characteristics: Jesigns from the early 1800s were mainly influenced from the Victorian Era and the Arts & Crafts movement, wherein elaborate and intricate decorations were popular and ornate layouts with large typefaces, influenced by the Big Top circus, was the dominant style for print media, Most of the elements (fonts, images, etc.) were hand- drawn and lithography (the precursor to offet lithography of modern printing) had just been introduced. This continues into the 1900s when designs were much simplified and made to look like everything was handmade, including the lettering, Fonts: St: most of the typefaces used were hand-drawn, digital typefaces of this period aren't readily available but similar, clearer fonts can be purchased online while references can be found in old type books and online sites specializing in vintage collectibles such as wew.vinalgemeohmy.com. ronically, some text fonts created in this period such as Franklin Gothie and News Gothie are stil widely used today and have almost become generic to the point that they do not reflect the era these were created. Colors: Jesigns from the early 1800s were just limited to black with cross-hatch etchings of woodcut printing simulated the gradations light and dark colors of until the end of the 1890s when colored lithography was introduced, he short-lived liberation of women in the early 1900s meant that feminine colors of pinks, pastels and beige dominant until the beginning of World War I with lighter shades of green, blue and violet gaining popularity. These ‘were called then as “city colors” with utilitarian colors of brown, tan and grey were referred to as “country colors”. he introduction of the electric lightbulb and the growth of various art movements brought the introduction of. bright colors which influenced design until the start of the ‘war when color was limited due to the high cost of printing AaBbCcXxYyZz123 AABBCCXXYYZz 123 ABCA YAA23 AaBbCcXxYyZz123456 AaBbCcxxYyZz123456 AABBCCXXYYZX1 23 ABCXYZ1234567 Aa CcXxYvZzi23 AaBbCcXxYyZ712345678re ora Going New-School with Old-School Design sone 15m, 2012 EARLY 1800’S-1910'SGoing New-School with Old-School Design THE 1920'S - 1930’S Characteristics: he utilitarian and rugged design of the post-war era eventually gave way to the “Roaring Twenties”, when jazz music and carefree prosperity reigned and French fashions and the Art Nouveau movement, mainly influenced with Vietorian Art from the 1900s, gain ground with flowing organic forms and vibrant color schemes, and eventually giving. ‘way to the modern geometric shapes and metallic color schemes of the Art Deco desiga movement in the 1930s. Fonts: MN Nouveau fonts, with their flowing, organic shapes such as Arnold Boecklin, was the popular font during this period where the classical shapes of the Victorian era meets the Modernist simplicity of the 1920s. MN Deco fonts such as Broadway defined the 1930s with ts bold geometric shapes and elegant heavy letterforms which reflected the carefree prosperous lifestyle that prevailed during the period. While formal serif fonts such as Bodoni and Cheltenharn reflected the conservative formal siyle ofthe Industrial revolution, while informal script font reflected an informal, more personal feel Colors: he post-war era of the 1920s were defined by muted colors as a reaction to the bright colors ofthe previous decade, but mostly due to the increased cost of dyes and colorful clothing. The introduction of the Art Deco era introduced a lot of metallic colors such as bronze, silver and chrome, yet bright colors still prevailed but used sparingly as an accent color or spot color among softer tones. Mex high contrast colors were often paired together in the 1930s as people began pursuing suntans to get that “healthy” look and began to use white that showed more of ther tan, eventually starting the trend of using white, off white and pastel colors asa fashion statement, Ulimately, the need for color brought back colors influenced by the seaside resorts and ocean liners such as reds, periwinkle and mustard yellows, along with the introduction of shocking pink AaBbCcxxyyZZ123 AaBbCcXxYyZz123456 AaBbCcxxYyZz1 2345 AaBoCcXxYyZz123456 AaBbCcXx Yy4z12345 AaBbCcXxYyZxi23 AABBCCXXTYZZ12345678 AaBbCcXxYyZz12345 Aah bCoXeYy 5g 1234567817H GRaPHic Ext Going New-School with Old-School Design THE 1920'S - - 1930°S. Coon) + he Sipe nN‘ree carne re Going New-School with Old-School Design sone 14, 2012 THE 1940’S - 1950'S Characteristics: AaBbCcXxYyZz1234 Nev much has chanel during the gat ofhe 1940s caren Br the pein su stheraion of Vidi AaBbCcXxYyZz123456 tuntil the mid-1940s meant that resources were placed into war una oor niciadmtdwecadiubsetadwccctene, ~AABbCeXxYyZz12345 voneiy witeandafie Willandecemases ~AABbCeXxYyZz 1234567 effects meant that designs were more cheerful and carefree as ro 0 Br muni nnuliites Tirsisteledigecate A@BbCCXxYyZz123456 Rack ‘n Roll genre which influenced graphic design, and orc to Fase noes) popular culture, as a whole with designs of bold colors and A aBb CcoXx YyZx 12345 abstract shapes that reflects the vibrant beat of the music. Mel Fonts: AABlCAY GBs (234567 lab-serif fonts such as Rockwell and Stymie and sans Deus Sener MF serif fonts such as Futura and Franklin Gothie were the woemithwel tnt iy enpwinentns, le BU Ce Ma Yy LPL{507890 carvied from the 1930s such as Clarendon and News Gothic. == 9 enon sen he 19508 introduced ne font rom European AaBbCcXx YyZz12 countries which, ironically, were already in use decades before such as Lydian, Bernhard Modern and Aksidenz et Colors: Maar Ev: the 1940s, bright colors of reds, pinks and Lada yellows eventually gave way to dusted, muted shades as dyes and inks were scarce during the war years (as most were made in Germany) and supplies were rationed to minimize waste. Miltary colors of khaki, olive and navy bluc, as well as patriotic colors of red, white and blue were the prevailing trend up unt the start ofthe 1950s, when tropical “beach” colors such as tangerine, purple and turquoise ushered in a cheerful mood, while pink, pastels and vibrant colors and black became popular with the influence of Rock ‘n Roll music, with orange debuting at the end of the 1950s.Going New-School with Old-School Design THE 1940'S “| 1950°SGoing New-School with Old-School Design THE 1960'S - 1970'S Characteristics: Feenension was pretty much the rule during these times as the youth rebellion against the Status Quo, along with the change of women’s role within society and. the influence of drug use has taken the aesthetics of graphic design to its extremes. he revival of the Art Nouveau movement may have influenced the psychedelic style, generating its own letters in a more organic and freestyle form, while the European style of graphic design have steadily entered the mainstream with the introduction of clean sans-serif fonts, simple geometric shapes and minimalist design. The influence of Disco music has been the main inspiration of graphic design in the 1970s with experimental color palettes and font styles that reflect the music's “groovy” theme. Fonts: ‘ypefaces popular during the 1960s like Helvetica, Microgramma and Times New Roman are installed in most graphics programs yet many of the psychedelia fonts are not available in digital form. However, many revival of sities and fonts are available online. ile fonts with swashes and fancy characters were popular in the 1970s, Avant Garde Gothic was the quintessential font ofthe era. Other choices were ITC. Benguiat, ITC Souvenir and Antique Olive. Colors: he introduction of orange sparked the outburst of bright and vibrant colors as pop art and fashion during the 1960s became a major influence in almost every aspect of graphic design until the late 1960s when ethnic influences from African, Oriental and Indian cultures inspired unique color combinations while the music scene and drug culture brought about fluorescent shades of color. Yet the 1970s introduced the ecology aspect and people eventually turned to earth tones of avocado, gold and bronze as they grew concerned with the environment, but mostly as a change from the overuse of vivid colors during the past decade. HaBbCcXx¥yZz1234567890 AaBbCcKxYyZz12345678 AaBbCcXxPyZz123 RaBbckxV yZz123456 AhaBbGeikadyZade30562890 AaBbCcXxYyZz123456 AaBbCcXxYyZz 1234 AaB6GcXxVyZz ee0e0e00 e000000 6000000 e000000 e600 ° eo eo e000 ee00000Design June 1514, 2012 = OL-School 1774 Grarmc BxP0 Guing New-School witl ~~ [ve lo[c fla sreneo O08 600000080Going New-School with Old-School Design THE 1980'S - 1990'S Characteristics: tthe end of the 1970s, the computer was beginning to evolve rom an automated business machine into an everyday home essential, and the introduction of the Mac and desktop publishing has made creating design faster and easier, ile the tend shifted from earth tones to neutral shades, the advent of MTV ushered visuals and radical designs that ht on a backlash ofthe idea of the psychological aspects of colors a movement emerged with the popularity of 1950s memorabilia. This continued until the 1990s, when environmental awareness foreed people to look at alternative resources like handmade paper and soy-based inks, while the Grunge movement introduced layouts that challenged the traditional grid style and legibility have opened other possibilities of self-expression tothe point of overshadowing the intended message. Faster computers also meant more complex page layouts, image ‘manipulations and enhancements were more possible than ever. A the end of the 1990s, The retro movement brought back the clegance of basic serif and sans-serif fonts and minimalist layouts yet the evolution of type design, understanding of colors and emerging media meant that the era of experimentation goes on, Fonts: The trends of the late 1970s continued until the mid-1980s esktop publishing introduced the digital rer quite the same. Three tends emerged imental fonts that challenged font Calligeaphie fons with either clean elegant lines such as Linotype Zapfino or with rough edges such as Blaze ITC TT; and Retro fonts that evoked bygone eras (see previous pages) Colors: the earth tones ofthe 1970s evolved into the muted colors of the 1980s and the popularity of colors from the Old Western such as peach, coral, sand and ivory, which later inspired pastels from coastal areas, as seen inthe TV show “Miami Vice” However the popularity of high-tech gadgets (and possibly, Darth Vader of Star Wars) made deep black as an elegant color up until the mid 1990s, when environmentalism made everyone think of natural green and earth tones, which eventually brought back the bright colors ofthe 1960s with black sila color of choice. AaBbCcXxYyZz1234567 AABbCcXxYyZz123456 AaBbCeXx¥yZ212345 AaBbCcXxYyZz125 AaBbCcXxYyZx12345 AUBUONNYZNEEPE6? ee naBbCOYZ213 23456w- School with Of-School Bes om sASISVOS® =Xew-School with Old-School Design sone 14, 2012 DESIGN RESOURCES FREEFONTS | £os¢ 7ype Co-op | [INSPIRATION (www.losttype.com) DaFont.com calibration beeen ges Vintage Me Oh My babont.co ‘Tyler Galpin and Riley Cran. swintagemeohmy.co (ourecdafont.com) Teas founded with the intention of (onwro vintagemeokmy.com) A wide selection offre fonts & providing unique and quality fonts A callecion of vintage memorabilia dingbats that are updated regulary based on a pay-whatyou-want model from the 1800s tothe 1980s by Every font is categorized for easy ($0 option is available, but a small | desiger-ntreprencur Megan Cummins browsing, with link to each font contibuton for ther effrtsis strongly] (anuxeamegancurmins.com), who uses designer's website, Has a wide encouraged) The majority of fonts, this to research and create the selection of Retrothemed fonts featured are heavily influenced by personaly of each projet Some available free for download. Woring designs from the 1940s and the inelade high-resolution sans of casic May contain fons tho may be NSFW) | 1950s. All designers get 100% ofthe | print ads and/or packaging which are ovations ther fot reeies so please free to download contribute whenever you can, no Font Squirrel matter how small it may be 7 ‘onutonalinttow Graphic Exchange Contsins sel lineup ofteeoasand | Free Typography | “@esrahicexchange.com) dingbats that are ideally suitable for An online collection of various classic formal or professional se. No cheap (ouro freetypoaraphy.com) and contemporary design works by looking handwritten or distessed fonts ‘A German online magazine which French graphic designer Fabien Barral, were included in the selection of fee features the best fre fonts fom who use this top showcase the best typefaces available in this sit upcoming font designers fom graphic design works of diferent fields, Europe and the rest ofthe world from print to packaging to photography ‘Apparently, the name sys itll. to we page, From around the world, a8 The League of vel as his own work asa eance sraphic designer. An ideal site for Moveable Type Google Web Fonts artistic inspiration and eeative ideas. (owe theleagreofmoveabletype.com) (www fonts.google.com) The League of Moveable Type isa An online dtectry of digital Vintage Ad Browser collboratne woupaffnt designers | ype forany saphicdeneneror | (apwvintageadbrouser.co who create new styles of digital type, web developer to download free of ee m) ‘ranging from traditional styles to charge (either as web fonts or open An online collection of over 100,000 contemporary sans-serif to modern ‘ype fon) for prio dial media, | printad fom the eal 1800 ni he sent which are fe fo dondd. Google intnde to spread the use of 2000¢ which are assorted int diferent Contributors are encouraged to join these fonts to help web sites look categories. Ideally suited as old-school ‘and etre thei works for other, Tere aesthei and readable inpizaon for modern reve design Other recommended sites: THE DIELINE (www thediline com) * LOVELY PACKAGE (wunw.lovelypackage.com) + FONT FABRIC (ww fonfabric.com) * INTERNATIONAL POSTER GALLERY (www internatonalposter.com)yy Oe REFERENCES: ‘Then Is Now: Sampling the Past for Today's Graphics by Cheryl Design Trends 1985-1995 by La ", Ke. wwwithedieline.com * www.graphicexchange.com