What it does James vaughan it is an admirable task, he collects all kinds of designs and graphic elements of pop culture, which were published during the 1940s and 1950s. He makes them a digital restoration, catalogs them to publish all these graphics on the internet, with the aim that anyone in the world can consult them for free.
There are thousands of designs that James has collected and organized in folders on his Flickr account. These graphics were used as magazine covers or as advertising by brands to promote their products or events. I came across this collection of designs thanks to Kw He shared it with me on Twitter.
In the compilation you can see designs that were used during the cold war, or movie posters from the 1940s. There are also thousands of advertising examples, which could be found on the inside of printed magazines in the 1950s.
James Vaughan does all this work because he is interested in preserving graphic history, he does not seek financial remuneration. In fact, all the images in the gallery cannot be used for commercial purposes without the permission of their original owners.
All the designs and graphic elements that he has collected over the years are so that students or anyone related to the world of design or advertising can consult them. With fonts, illustrations, photos, and other graphics you can be inspired to create new designs.
Compilation of designs, advertising and graphics from the 40s and 50s
James is concerned that as the years go by, all these designs, which are now considered old or vintage, will be lost.. But whose design style has endured the passing of the years, and which are so characteristic of those couple of decades. If you look at the advertising or the posters above, you immediately relate it to the forties or fifties, you do it without having to read the specifications of each design.
That’s why James believes that someone had to start gathering as many designs, which were used during that period of time. I do not know if he has already compiled all the ones that exist, but he has done a few thousand jobs.
The amount and variety of graphic elements that you can see in the compilation is impressive. You find advertising from architecture, science fiction, trains, as well as a lot of advertising considered at the time as propaganda.
If you are a fan of these types of designs and graphic elements, enter the gallery, you will spend a couple of hours looking at great designs. Or if you are looking for a page to get inspiration, this compilation is going to be very helpful. I can assure you that you will find the inspiration you need, looking at one of the thousands of designs in the galleries..