This past weekend I went out to Denver where I had the opportunity to go to the Denver Art Museum. The building was designed by Daniel Libeskind, and was truly impressive both inside and out.

The special exhibit that was up was called “The Psychedelic Experience,” which showcased rock posters from the San Francisco Bay Area from 1965-71.  There were over 300 posters that were done by artists who lacked any formal training but had an abundance of creativity and experimented with type, illustration (and potentially other things) in unorthodox ways. Some of the posters and images are now iconic of that decade, which was pretty amazing to see up close and personal.

Quote by Jacaeber Kastor:
“And that is why posters became beautiful and blossomed and flourished: because they had to say everything. They couldn’t just tell you the information about the show. They had to tell you what kind of people you might meet, what kind of far out trip you might have or perhaps even reveal the mysteries of the universe. Wow. Quantum mechanics, visual mud wrestling, Acid Test pop quiz on a phone pole!”

Something that I found interesting was that some of the artists purposefully used hard to decipher typography.  It required the viewer to examine it a little bit longer and figure out who was playing which venue and when. This type of messaging was very purposeful to the target audience, the younger crowd of San Francisco, who were actively part of the up and coming music scene.  To its credit this is exactly what good marketing does; targets a specific audience with a customized message and drives them to do something with a call to action. Figuring out how to connect with your target audience is still a key marketing principal today. Without it, the messaging could be lost; if it is too generic, people will most likely not read it or follow up with it.

The message that these posters conveyed was so concentrated and direct, that people heeded the call to action and went out and supported their community of artists and musicians. These poster designers were wildly successful in their marketing efforts and were able to communicate in inventive and clever ways.  In doing so, they made a culture iconic.