Stories, trends and background on Reetro's posters, canvases and prints — gathered in one place.
New in the journal: Josef Müller-Brockmann’s First June Festival Concert from 1960, with sourced details on offset lithography, the Tonhalle programme, Georg Solti, Claudio Arrau, and the Swiss print order behind it.
Alongside that, we keep building out topics around style history, wall graphics, and print culture.
Latest articles
- Josef Müller-Brockmann’s First June Festival Concert from 1960 — A sourced look at a 1960 Zurich concert poster: offset lithography, a Tonhalle programme with Georg Solti and Claudio Arrau, and an unusually precise Swiss print order.
- The Apple II print advert from 1977 — A sourced look at the first Apple II magazine advert: Scientific American, a kitchen-table scene, and an early moment when print made home computing look domestic.
- Wim Crouwel’s Vormgevers for the Stedelijk Museum (1968) — A sourced look at a 1968 exhibition poster shaped by offset print, museum grid logic, and an unusually calm systems-driven print language.
- Alvin Lustig’s New Directions book jackets (1941–1955) — A sourced look at abstract New Directions jackets, from the first Henry Miller cover in 1941 to the late example New Directions 15 from 1955.
- Ikko Tanaka’s Nihon Buyo from 1981 — A sourced look at a Japanese performance poster for UCLA: grid logic, geometry, and unusual calm compressed into a remarkably precise printed surface.
- Cassandre’s Dubo, Dubon, Dubonnet from 1932 — A sourced look at an advertising triptych that turns lithography, typography, and colour saturation into an almost cinematic printed sequence.
- Lester Beall’s REA posters for rural America (1937–1941) — A sourced look at three poster series for the Rural Electrification Administration: silkscreen, photomontage, and clear modernism as public-facing image work.
- Massimo Vignelli’s 1972 NYCTA subway map — A sourced look at the 1972 foldout: diagrammatic lines, reduced topography, and a transit print that turns function into form.
- Herb Lubalin’s Avant Garde no. 1 from 1968 — A sourced look at the January 1968 debut issue: Richard Lindner’s cover image Ice, Ralph Ginzburg as publisher, and Herb Lubalin as designer.
- George Orwell’s "Nineteen Eighty-Four" at Penguin — A sourced look at Penguin’s covers from 1954 to 2013, moving through Germano Facetti, Modern Classics, and materially minded redesigns.
- Penguin Modern Classics in the Marber Grid from 1963 — A sourced look at the 1961 series launch and the 1963 redesign that made Penguin Modern Classics an especially precise paperback system.
Planned topics
- Mid-Century in the 2026 living room — How 1960s design language fits into contemporary spaces and which motifs dominate this year.
- Pixel art's comeback in modern wall decor — From arcade cabinets to living rooms as a nostalgic statement.