I want to take a moment to share some of the works from the book I picked up when in Glasgow. While I did mention the book’s contents previously, I did not share much. Here, I’ll share some vintage pictures of USSR poster design from Phaidon’s publication, Designed in the USSR 1950 – 1989. I don’t plan a deep dive into a critique of the artworks shown here, but I want to share some smart imagery. Though there’s a plethora of beautiful designs contained in the book, Miron Lykyanov’s works caught my eye. So, let’s look at some of his posters.
While Designed in the USSR 1950 – 1989 has a great section on movie posters, some of the stand-out designs are by Miron Lykyanov. I admire that’s he’s not shy of using black. I have personal associations with black as representative of absoluteness and irrevocability – it’s strong and certain of itself, showing unwavering commitment to any composition.
This poster is great because the figures are dispersed with the essential text, so the viewer becomes involved with the flow of the illustration as they read it. I like the careful management of negative space and the typography.
This poster pays homage to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian and Soviet rocket scientist, who claimed “the road to the stars is open”. The deep black space has an infinite feel, but here the unknown is not scary, rather the pursuit of new ground is exciting. A very persuasive piece, “I have unlimited potential” is the message it sends to viewers.
This social awareness poster is out to provoke discussion, thinking, and response. The threads create the illusion of a warm sun – and the suggestion that a bright future lies ahead for all those with the drive to become involved in the textile industry.
In a future post, it would be nice to spend more time specifically on the general design of social awareness posters, and the power that pictures alone have to break though language barriers and cultural differences to send out messages to anyone, anywhere, in almost any language.
DESIGN WORKS 