Old is The New Black

Old is The New Black

 So I was surfing through the internet when I cam acrosswww.oncenewvintage.com, I could not believe the stunning visuals I found on the site. Once New Vintage’s blogs photographs of typography and they list them in two categories: vintage and modern vintage. They list the time period of the vintage art work, I like to learn about the different time periods so I can compare, contrast and gather information about the time periods based off the design. 

As an artist and a designer these were almost shocking to me. I never knew such elaborate, ornate and intense design even existed in the 1800 and 1900’s. Not only are they beautiful but also extremely difficult to create. In a world where Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop don not exist I would go crazy. To be honest, I have no Idea how half these images were made.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Typography from 1880-1920, Pt.1

This is one of about 15 Map posters on Once New. I like them a lot because they are so extraordinarily intense but yet elegant and beautiful. I think getting work to have a perfect equilibrium between polar opposites can be quite fantastic.

5 Cigar Boxes with awesome labels- from the late 1800s-Early 1900s. Via the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

The Fulton Self-Inking Stamp Pad and Camel Ink Pad are via Flickr. The David’s Excelsior Self-Inking Stamp Pad is via Etsy. All are American made brands from the early 1900s.

What I thought was really interesting was that many of these designs have typography that resemble those of the up and coming designers. Some well known designers like Jessica Hische, Erik Marinovich and Louise Fili all have work that resemble typographical elements from some of this vintage work. 

For instance, 

Vs

I mean they do not look exactly the same, but the flourishes feel very similar. I would not be surprised if Louise Fili looked at some typography similar the image above this one. 

Vs

 

The serifs are are similar and they both have a similar time period feel. Jessica’s letters are more modern and not as full, but her flourishes and type serifs are so similar.