Thank You.


To those of you who have worked and who presently work in our armed forces,
I offer my most sincere appreciation.



Take a look at the last 32 years of official Veterans Day posters and see if you can find any trends, not only in graphic design, but more importantly, in attitiude. 


Comments

kelleyn said…
The more recent posters, on and off through the 90's and especially since 1999, look somber and seem to emphasize suffering while the older posters look vibrant and emphasize victory. Of the older ones, even the mustard colored one from 1983 is uplifting, because the faces show confidence and determination and the text reads "America is #1". In contrast, on the 2007 poster the sun manages to make the flag look filmy and fragile, utterly unlike the flags of 1984, 1990 and 1993. It's especially noticeable at the beginning and end; the first three are on white grounds but this year's is almost dead black.
November 11, 2010 at 1:56 PM
Lynne said…
Thanks for the comment, kelleyn.

By today's apologetic standards, the 1983 cover was almost shocking in its admission, "America is #1." And what the heck happened in 2005? Did the art department call that one in? Yikes!

Including those two stark differences, I agree that the covers seem to go from triumphant to somber, but I can't say that I entirely dislike the trend. Armed forces are serious business. Strong and sober would be best.

The 1986/7 covers showing a progression from the minuteman to modern soldier are pretty neat, but I do like the way the more modern ones incorporate other strong symbols (eagle, Statue of Liberty, flag) with more finesse, which is simply a matter of graphic appeal.

I also liked that they dropped the "Arlington National Cemetery" off of the cover beginning in 1993. This is supposed to be a national day of appreciation, not just at the tomb of the unknown soldier. And I'd guess that the Baltimore Catechism look to 2001 was in the can before September 11th.
November 11, 2010 at 2:42 PM
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