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The Development of the
Poster
 Printed
advertisements can be traced back to the
16th century but the poster as we know it
today did not emerge until 1860 with the
invention of the colour lithographic printing
process. Brilliantly coloured posters
could be cheaply produced and the medium
soon reached an artistic peak in Paris during
the late 19th century. Advertising a variety
of products as well as theatrical and musical
performances, posters of this time period
exhibit the decorative patterns and intertwining
organic forms that characterize Art Nouveau.
Noted artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec who
worked in the Art Nouveau style, helped
to popularize the poster as an art form.
 The
20th century boom in industry and mass production
gave rise to the extensive use of posters
for advertising. Posters from the early
decades of the last century reflect the
influences of art movements like Art
Deco. Popular in the 1920s and 1930s,
Art Deco symbolized the power and speed
of the machine age with streamlined
shapes and sleek angular design and typography.
Other modern art movements such as Cubism
and Futurism with their emphasis on geometric
forms also had an influence on graphic design.
 During
the First World War (1914 - 1918) posters
were used to raise money, recruit soldiers
and boost volunteer efforts. The Canadian
Government helped finance the war by selling
Victory Bonds to Canadian citizens, corporations,
and organizations. Victory bonds, certificates
paying fixed interest rates in five, ten
or twenty year terms, were promoted by massive
poster campaigns.
 The
poster also played a significant role in
the Second World War, although it shared
the spotlight with other media, chiefly
radio and print. Posters of the Second World
War downplayed the extensive use of text
popular during the First World War, in favour
of catchy slogans. By this time, most posters
were produced using the mass production
technique of photo offset, which
results in the dot pattern seen in newspaper
reproductions. An increase in the use of
photography, bold colours and strong graphic
designs are some characteristics of Second
World War posters. After the war, the use
of posters declined in most countries as
television became the prime source of advertising.
Exhition Areas:
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