A History of Graphic Design

Postwar Graphic Design

1960’s

Postwar graphic design was based entirely on antiwar propaganda. Along with the antiwar movement, other social movements emerged from the current political upheavals. These upheavals, the civil rights movement, women’s movement, environmentalism and the Vietnam War, were accompanied by poster art addressing these issues. Advertisements on radio and television were only able to be used for the wealthy, so normal citizens, independent and social groups, printed posters and flyers to help their causes. In addition to music growing in popularity, graphics for this part of entertainment appeared with a focus on design creativity. The person at the forefront of this was Milton Glaser, who “captured the imagination of a generation with his stylized curvilinear drawing, bold flat color, and original concepts.” In time, Milton expanded his reach to magazines, restaurants, retail stores and visual identity systems.