Research design boards

I chose to look into an era which has always interested me but I haven’t previously used as a basis for design purposes. The 1920s has always interested me in terms of fashion, but I have recently developed a real interest in the social scene and the influence of music in this decade.

‘The Roaring Twenties’ were a time in which everyday life was undergoing a drastic change in it’s postwar state. Minorities in society were becoming more recognised, women gained the vote and so were being reinvented in society, and African Americans were being recognised for their musical talent.

RESEARCH

All forms of design seemed to follow a similar direction in the 1920s and became all about angular patterns, welcoming the art deco era. The designs used for furniture and advertising to means of transport were all considered to be very modern, and since this was pre Great Depression, the economy was booming and the world was able to afford the use of very expensive materials.

The invention of the printing press in the 1920s revolutionised the world of graphic design, making it very easy to mass produce books, newspapers, magazines etc.. As a result of this sudden booming business, advertising and graphic design agencies sprung up everywhere in order to fuel the advertising needs of newspapers etc.

DESIGN IN 1920S

The 1920s confronted much of the graphic design world with a typographic revolution, with the invention of the printing press meaning that there was more of a market for varied typography. The styles of typography that were emerging bore much resemblance to the art deco elements of the decade, with very angular lines and zig-zags incorporated into the typefaces.

Modernism was becoming trendy in the 1920s and 1930s and so when combined with the sudden need and infusion of graphic design into everyday life, typographers and printers adapted their previous way of working to a huge range of printed matter, from business cards to magazines, books and advertisements.

1920S TYPOGRAPHY

After gaining a more detailed insight into the decade, I chose to look at examples of how that art deco style of graphic design has been translated to more modern interpretations. I have a great deal of interest in the typographic side of this era as I feel that some of the typography that I have designed myself has been quite similar to that of some of the more angular examples of the 1920s.

CONCEPT

While not knowing what the brief was made it difficult to come up with a concept based on my research, I concluded that I would like to do something typographically based, perhaps something like a series of posters or a magazine which modernises the ideals of the 1920s, perhaps making them more relevant to current affairs and keeping this style in the design world today.

CONCEPT