Journal

Stories, trends and background on Reetro's posters, canvases and prints — gathered in one place.

Latest articles

• Braun KSM1: Dieter Rams and the Coffee Grinder as a Design Icon — The Braun KSM1 shows how Dieter Rams turned a simple kitchen appliance into a quiet manifesto for reduced, functional design between 1960 and 1975. Everyday coffee became a question of design.
• Alessi Kettle: Richard Sapper and the Kettle as a Work of Art — In 1983, Richard Sapper transformed a humble kettle into a design object with a two-note melodic whistle. A decade of formal experimentation that changed the kitchen forever.
• Helvetica: How Max Miedinger Changed Typography in 1957 — In 1957, Max Miedinger drew a sans-serif typeface in Switzerland that soon appeared on subway signs, corporate logos and space agencies worldwide. The story of Helvetica is the story of the modern visual language.
• Neon & Vintage Advertising 1920–1970: History of Illuminated Signs — From the first glass tubes of the 1920s to the iconic motel signs of the 1960s: neon signs literally illuminated the visual language of modernity. How typography, light, and craftsmanship created a wholly distinctive aesthetic.
• Braun Phono Radios: Dieter Rams' Sound Aesthetics of the 50s–70s — At Braun, Dieter Rams transformed the radio from a purely functional device into a design object with attitude. How phono combis like the SK 4 shaped entire generations of living rooms — acoustically and visually.
• Stelton Arne Jacobsen Stainless Steel Pot: An Icon Since 1967 — Since 1967, the Stelton stainless steel pot by Arne Jacobsen has stood for understated style and thoughtful function at the table. Why this piece has lost none of its radiance to this day.
• Braun KF20: Dieter Rams & the Design of the Everyday Kitchen — The Braun KF20 is no ordinary kitchen appliance — it is a manifesto in plastic and chrome. Dieter Rams distilled his famous ten design principles into an object that continues to inspire to this day.
• Scandinavian Furniture Design 1950–1970: Teak, Jacobsen & Wegner — Between 1950 and 1970, Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner and Finn Juhl revolutionised home living with teak wood, organic forms and uncompromising functionalism. A look at the golden age of Scandinavian design.
• Olivetti Lettera 32: Icon of Industrial Design 1963–1980 — The Olivetti Lettera 32 appeared in 1963 and became the best-selling portable typewriter of its era. Find out here why this compact machine from Turin continues to captivate design enthusiasts and collectors to this day.
• Braun Electric Shavers: Dieter Rams & Collector Culture 1962–1980 — Between 1962 and 1980, Dieter Rams gave the Braun electric shaver a form that changed the world of product design forever. Why these devices enjoy cult status today and what fascinates collectors about them.
• Eames Lounge Chair: Design History of a Classic Since 1956 — Since 1956, the Eames Lounge Chair has reigned as an undisputed icon in living rooms, museums, and design history books. What lies behind the chair that changed the furniture world forever?
• Dieter Rams & Braun: The quiet revolution of good design — Braun devices from the 1950s and 60s look as though they were designed yesterday – yet behind them lies a genuine design revolution. With ten principles of good design, Dieter Rams laid a foundation that Apple, IKEA and others have never let go of.
• 70s Wallpapers: Geometry, Botanics, and Psychedelic Patterns — Wallpapers of the 1970s were no quiet background noise — they screamed, climbed, and pulsated. How geometric and botanical patterns became the mirror of an entire generation teetering between trip and terrarium.
• Color Psychology of the 1960s: Orange, Avocado & Psychedelia — In the 1960s, living rooms practically exploded with color: avocado green, vivid orange and hypnotic wallpaper patterns told the story of an entire generation's spirit of new beginnings. Read here what this color palette reveals about psychology and the zeitgeist.
• The Cassandre Era: Typography in Luxury Posters 1925–1940 — Between 1925 and 1940, A.M. Cassandre revolutionised poster design in France with geometric typefaces such as Bifur and Acier Noir. Discover how this era brought luxury and modernity together on paper.
• Cassandre & Nordstrom: Color Harmony in Posters 1930–1938 — A.M. Cassandre transformed the Nordstrom department store posters of the 1930s with masterful lithography and bold color harmony into timeless icons of Art Déco. A look behind the printing stones and color layers of a forgotten collaboration.
• Cassandre: Aviation & Automobiles in Luxury Sports Posters 1920–1938 — A.M. Cassandre turned speed into art: his posters for aircraft and automobiles of the interwar period remain among the most iconic testimonies of Art Deco to this day.
• Cassandre & Colour: Psychology and Technique in Poster Advertising — Adolphe Mouron Cassandre turned colour into a precise psychological tool between 1925 and 1940. Find out here how he achieved this technically and why his posters continue to resonate today.
• Cassandre & the Railway Poster: Modern Transport Advertising 1925–1940 — Adolphe Mouron Cassandre transformed the train poster between 1925 and 1940 into true street art. Find out how he did it and why his works continue to inspire the sneaker world today.
• Russian Avant-Garde Posters 1917–1932: Constructivism & Propaganda — Between revolution and red flags, some of the most powerful posters in art history were created between 1917 and 1932. How Constructivists like Rodchenko and El Lissitzky turned color, form, and type into a political weapon.
• Toulouse-Lautrec & the Variety Poster: Parisian Nightlife 1890–1901 — Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec transformed the Parisian nightlife of the Belle Époque into vivid lithographs that redefined the advertising poster and art for ever. How Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge and a handful of colours changed poster art from 1890 onwards.
• Cassandre & Colour Psychology: Poster Art 1925–1935 — Adolphe Mouron Cassandre knew exactly which colour triggers which feeling. This look into the golden age of the poster reveals how he used contrast, saturation, and colour symbolism as psychological tools between 1925 and 1935.
• Art Deco Posters: Cassandre's Students and Their Global Legacy — From Paris to the world: Cassandre's students transformed Art Deco aesthetics into a global visual language that has lost none of its radiance to this day.
• Jean Carlu: Cubism Meets Advertising 1925–1950 — Jean Carlu was the man who brought Cubism out of the gallery and onto the street: his posters between 1925 and 1950 show that avant-garde visual language and hard-hitting advertising impact need not be contradictions.
• A.M. Cassandre: Art Deco Posters Between 1920 and 1935 — A.M. Cassandre transformed the advertising poster of the interwar period into genuine art: with geometric forms, bold perspective and typefaces of his own creation, he set standards that continue to resonate today.
• Abram Games: Wartime Posters 1940–1946 in Focus — Between 1940 and 1946, Abram Games created iconic propaganda posters as Britain's official war artist – works that are still regarded as milestones in the history of graphic design.
• Joost Schmidt: Bauhaus Exhibition Graphics 1923–1932 — Between 1923 and 1932, Joost Schmidt transformed exhibition graphics at the Bauhaus into a systematic teaching discipline. How Constructivism, typography, and pedagogy merged into a unified whole.
• Herbert Matter & the Swiss Tourism Poster 1936–1955 — Herbert Matter revolutionized the Swiss tourism poster with bold photomontages and dynamic typography. Between objective documentation and commercial commission, a form of Modernism emerged that still resonates today.
• Lucian Bernhard & the Sachplakat: Modern Advertising Graphics 1910–1930 — Lucian Bernhard gave birth to the Sachplakat with his radically reduced style, reinventing the visual language of advertising. How a young graphic designer turned Berlin and the world of commercial art upside down.
• Alexey Brodovitch’s Ballet from 1945 — A sourced look at Alexey Brodovitch’s photobook Ballet: published in 1945 by J. J. Augustin in New York, with 104 photographs, text by Edwin Denby, and a printed object whose grain and smudges are part of the form.
• Josef Albers’s Interaction of Color from 1963 — A sourced look at Josef Albers’s Interaction of Color: Yale University Press, 1963, originally issued as a limited silkscreen edition with 150 color plates and still an unusually precise printed object about how color behaves.
• USSR in Construction magazine (1930–1941) — A sourced look at the Soviet magazine USSR in Construction: oversized format, photomontage, foldouts, multiple language editions, and unusually exact print dramaturgy.
• Jan Tschichold’s Die neue Typographie from 1928 — A sourced look at Jan Tschichold’s 1928 book: Berlin, Bildungsverbandes der Deutschen Buchdrucker, 240 pages, and a printed object that programmatically condenses asymmetry and modern typography.
• Cassandre’s Nord Express from 1927 — A sourced look at Cassandre’s 1927 advertising poster: colour lithograph, 105.4 × 75 cm, multilingual rail inscriptions, and a printed image poised between Art Deco, perspective, and the promise of travel.
• László Moholy-Nagy’s Malerei, Photographie, Film from 1925 — A sourced look at Moholy-Nagy’s 1925 book: Albert Langen, 133 pages, a later 1927 variant, and a printed object poised between photogram, typophoto, and thinking through film.
• Fact magazine (1964–1967) — A sourced look at Ralph Ginzburg and Herb Lubalin’s Fact: 1964 to 1967, precise editorial design, and a magazine poised between cultural criticism, politics, and printed attitude.
• Walter Gropius’s Internationale Architektur from 1925 — A sourced look at Walter Gropius’s opening Bauhaus book: Munich 1925, a compact early-modern print object whose revised 1927 edition runs to 111 pages and relies heavily on illustrations.
• The Family of Man catalog from 1955 — A sourced look at the 1955 catalog for The Family of Man: 503 photographs from 68 countries, Edward Steichen, Leo Lionni, and a print object poised between exhibition and book.
• 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 Medium Is the Massage from 1967 — A sourced look at the book by McLuhan, Fiore, and Agel: a 1967 print object poised between paperback, collage, and media theory.
• Domus no. 1 from 1928 — A sourced look at the first Domus issue: Gio Ponti, modern living, and a magazine that brought architecture, interiors, and print culture into a new relation.
• 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.
• The Whole Earth Catalog from fall 1968 — A sourced look at the 1968 first issue: Stewart Brand’s printed system poised between catalog, magazine, supplier index, and counterculture.
• Emigre no. 1, A Magazine for Exiles, from 1984 — A sourced look at the 1984 debut issue: 32 pages from Berkeley, poised between an exile magazine, early desktop publishing, and a highly deliberate printed surface.
• 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.
• Barbara Kruger’s I shop therefore I am from 1987 — A sourced look at a text-image work poised between consumer critique, vinyl print, and everyday circulation on bags and other carriers.
• 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.
• Ralph Ginzburg and Herb Lubalin’s Eros from 1962 — A sourced look at the hardbound 1962 quarterly: four issues, Ralph Ginzburg as publisher, and Herb Lubalin as art director.
• 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 unusually material-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.
• Saul Bass’s "The Man with the Golden Arm" from 1955 — A sourced look at a film poster that turned symbol, title sequence, and publicity into one early visual language.
• Paul Rand's "Eye-Bee-M" for IBM — A sourced look at the IBM poster that condenses rebus logic, brand form, and printed lightness into one unusually durable image.
• Romek Marber's Penguin Crime cover system from 1961 — A sourced look at the paperback grid that turned one crime series into a broader publishing design language.
• Massimo and Lella Vignelli’s Unigrid brochures for the National Park Service (1977) — A sourced look at a public brochure system shaped by grid logic, fold design, and remarkably durable visual order.
• Otl Aicher's "München (Munich) 1972" — A sourced look at an Olympic poster shaped by sports photography, colour systems, and modern visual identity.
• Milton Glaser's "Dylan" from 1966 — A sourced look at an iconic album insert between counterculture, Art Nouveau, and design history.
• Josef Müller-Brockmann's "June Festival" from 1956 — A sourced look at a Zurich concert poster shaped by grid logic, typography, and Swiss Style.
• Cassandre's "Normandie" from 1935 — A factual look at an Art Deco travel poster built around a strict frontal view and a reduced palette.
• Mid-Century in the 2026 living room — How 1960s design language fits into contemporary spaces and which motifs feel current right now.
• Pixel art's comeback on the wall — Why the grid-based look works again in 2026 as a sharp wall statement.