The Age of Information: Graphic Design in the Global Village, Part 2

Having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 60s, (even though I was a very young child) I was somewhat aware of the psychedelic movement at the time.  I didn't understand it at all, but I loved the artwork and I even have a few memories of drawing and lettering in that style. I had a small pen set in psychedelic colors and used those. At the time, I didn't understand the drug culture associated with it, but I was just beginning to get into popular music, so I made those connections. I had heard about The Fillmore but didn't know anything about the artists who created the posters.

So it was with great interest that I did some further research on the psychedelic movement and Wes Wilson in particular. Wilson was widely considered "the father" of the psychedelic art movement. Design was more important than legibility. The artists assumed that if people were interested enough, they'd figure it out.

"Wilson is also reported to have been inspired by Alphonse Mucha, Van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, and Egon Schiele. Somewhere around this time, a friend showed him a copy of a 1908 poster done by the Viennese Secessionist artist, Alfred Roller. It contained an alphabet and lettering style quite similar to what Wilson had been doing and marked a direction toward which he aspired. It was not long before Wilson absorbed the Roller style, altering it to his own needs. What followed was an explosion of lettering creativity that changed the poster scene permanently." (http://www.wes-wilson.com/?page_id=488)


Here's a few more of Wilson's posters that weren't in the book:

Picture Credits: http://www.wes-wilson.com/?page_id=592

Wilson's lettering style was based on the following typeface designed by Alfred Roller in 1903:

Picture Credit: fausthaus.blogspot.com


For Fun:

Make Your Own Psychedelic Poster

Happy Thanksgiving All!