Posters: the Bread of the Earth

THE DESIGNFUL COMPANY by Marty Neumeier is a compelling study of 21st century concepts of innovation, design management and business ethics. His third book is a manifesto on building a company based upon the pillars of vision, culture, and innovation. However he uses “posters and toasters” as part of a larger metaphor for 20th century design thinking. Most companies generate a steady stream of quotidian design materials—products, print communications, websites, signage, retail environments, packaging, trade show exhibits, advertising manuals, financial reports—the “toasters and posters” of the 20th century. While it’s true successful organizations and businesses in order to succeed must embrace sustainable thinking from the inside out it is also true that poster art remains a timeless medium for purposes of political incitement, biting wit and a proving ground for the power of metaphors. Literate artists and designers know poster luminaries such as John Heartfield, Hannah Hoch, AM Cassandre, Ben Shahn, and in Israel, Yossi Lemel. Posters are not afterthoughts from a century passed—they are the bread of the earth. Aficionados and anyone else with an interest in large-scale graphic expression should study the largest poster archive in digital space: Rene Wanner’s Poster Page.