Inspired by the Past

This phrase comes from a manifesto I wrote back in design school. While I changed the wording slightly, the sentiment remains true. I find myself wanting to ‘time travel’ to the past the investigate the visual culture of design through history. I’ve always loved how the work of 100 years ago still manages to technically amaze our eyes today. For this poster, I was inspired by the Golden Age of magic posters from the late 1800s to 1930s. These lithograph posters were spectacles of colour, varied typographic styles, and mystic characters. Heralding sights unseen and magical theatrics, they were also selling the personas of the magicians themselves. Houdini, Danté, and Keller, these headlining figures emblazon their posters. I explored some Victorian-inspired type details and outlined strokes around the letterforms.