When you think about the 1950s, you think pastel coloured kitchen appliances, petticoat dresses with tiny waists, men in suits, cigarettes, beautiful cars, children playing in the streets and home life. It was when soldiers returned from the war, and the preciousness of family life was newly appreciated. The Second World War was over in 1945, but its effect lasted well into the 1950s. Money was short and ordinary people struggled to make ends meet, but there was hope and optimism. There was a bright future ahead, and this hope was reflected in the culture of that time.

In this exercise, I collect references and write a short review of the visual perspective of the 1950s period, identifying the universal visual qualities within the categories – shape, textures, colour, style, and other features. I will describe the characteristics that typify the decade and the ideas and visual trends that were prevalent of this time. I will then make an illustration to represent the 1950s to a teenager.

People and Costume

In women’s fashion, the silhouette made famous by Christian Dior had a tiny waist, fitted to half with pointed breasts and a full skirt to just below the knee. Dainty corollas of flowers were the popular fabric design choice. (Blue 17 Vintage Clothing, 2021)

Men suits were fuller, more comfortable, and adequately tailored. In the workplace, dark blue, dark brown, and charcoal were the colours of choice. (Fifties Web, 2021)

The teenage girl clothing style in the 1950s was tapered pants with shoestring ties at the knee and cotton shirt knotted at the waist, bare-armed dresses, peppermint tops, princess dresses, stripes, ruffles, bright colours and of course the wide skirts with petticoats to give the skirt extra volume. (Fifties Web, 2021)

Architecture and Interiors

After the Second World War, houses had to be rebuilt. Homes built post-war tend to come in specific styles, such as Ranch or Cape Cod. The post-war house is known for being basic and functional.

The interiors of a 1950s home were mostly pastels: soft pink, mint green, butter yellow, baby blue, and turquoise. Cherry red and other bright colours were eventually added for dramatic decors. Neutral tones such as grey, brown, and tan were also popular.

Damask and floral wallpapers were often used. Grasscloth wallpapers were expensive and a status symbol for living rooms. Tongue and groove knotty pine panelling was a popular choice for family rooms, and black and white checkerboard floors were all the rage for kitchens. (Painter, 2021)

Film and TV

Television became something the average family could afford, and by 1950 4.4 million U.S. families had one in their home. The Golden Age of Television was marked by family-friendly shows like I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Twilight Zone, and Leave It to Beaver. In movie theatres, actors like John Wayne, James Stuart, Charlton Heston, Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe dominated the box office. (Douglas T. Miller, 1977)

Graphic Design

“Good design is good business” became a rallying cry in the graphic design community during the 1950s. During World War II, an immense technological development was closely linked to the era’s important corporations and the need to develop a corporate image and identity for diverse audiences. (Philip B. Meggs, 2016)

Some influential mid-century graphic designers are:

Paul Rand (1914 – 1996)
Giovanni Pintori (1912-1998)
Cipe Pineles (1908 – 1991)
Saul Bass (1920 – 1996)

During the 1950s, the Swiss design movement emerged together with the International Typographic Style. It remained a significant force for over two decades, and its influence continues today. (Philip B. Meggs, 2016)

In 1957 Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman designed the most widely used typeface: Helvetica.

Advertising

In the 1950’s tobacco advertising was virtually unregulated. In America, many companies showed Santa smoking during the holidays. (Russell, 2012) Although black and white adverts were more common during post-war times, you could still find colour adverts.

I wanted to get an idea of the type of advertising that stood out in those days and decided to ask my father, born in South Africa in 1948. As a young child in the 1950s, he remembered advertising being more directed to adults in contrast to today’s children are exposed to advertising on children tv channels and the internet. Children were more concerned with riding their bikes and playing outside, and shop window displays were the most popular form of advertising in those days. Adverts were illustrated in newspapers and magazines mostly in black and white instead of colour to keep printing costs down. Radio advertising was very popular. Essential household items like soap, washing powder, cigarettes, soft drinks and motor vehicles were advertised.

Surface pattern and decoration

Colour photography was not very common in the 1950s, but paging through a Home and Garden magazine from 1959, it is clear that the décor had bright and bold hues. We are talking about red carpets, orange sofas, blue walls, pink ceilings and using the same colour in different patterns in one room. Combining bright patterns in the same colour was no problem, and bold stripes were used on large surfaces.

Decor in bright and bold hues in the late 1950s

Patterns were trendy in the fifties. Florals, geometric shapes, and stripes were well-liked. Bold colours or pastels were popular, depending on your taste.

Art

“The story of 1950s art begins at the end of the Second World War, because it was such a rupture to the body of the world, that the post-war art beginnings extend from mid-1940s to the next decade. Slowly, as the world started recovering from the war trauma, new art movements developed worldwide. Major influences on the 1950s art were made by 1920s avant-garde movements, modernism, surrealism and abstract painting.” (R, 2016)

Pop art started taking form towards the end of the 1950s when some European artists began to make symbols and products of advertising the main subject of their artistic work.

Transport

In 1959 the two-door compact city car Mini Cooper was born. The original Mini is considered an icon of 1960 British Pop Culture. (Wikipedia, 2021)

My 1950s illustration

The illustration is created with alcohol markers and then scanned into Adobe Photoshop to add in the fabric cuttings for her dress, sofa fabric, wallpaper, wall art and the television screen. I then made finishing touches to blend all the different elements.

The Creative Process

I experimented with facial expressions and the kind of expression I want to communicate in this illustration.
I decided I wanted to use a teenager because the audience are teenagers, and it will be more relatable.
I looked up hair and make-up fashions for teenagers in the 1950s and sketched the final sit-position for my illustration.
Once I had done my final sketch, I painted it with tea to give it a vintage paper background.
Final drawing with tea layer.
I then used old netting and an alcohol marker to get the texture of the carpet.
The textured carpet. I tested colour blends and combinations before applying colour.
I did the tiny colour details digitally as it is possible to zoom in.
I used this rose photo to do her petticoat.

Things that went wrong:

10. I wanted to create a pattern with white spray paint and a stencil.

11. The effect was nice but more like a tie-dye effect which is not suitable for a 1950s sofa.

12. I attempted to cut actual fabric for her dress, but it was not ideal for this project.

13. Masking a photo of fabric in Photoshop worked better as you can line it up precisely with your drawing.

The 1950s made a mark on our culture and is still relevant today. The vintage look is trendy today, with Sanderson fabrics recently printing a 1950s fabric range and the new Mini-Cooper launched a few years ago. The 1950s was a time of new beginnings, and we love to reflect on the days of simpler times.

References:

Blue 17 Vintage Clothing, 2021. Blue 17 Vintage Clothing. [Online]
Available at: https://www.blue17.co.uk/vintage-blog/1950s-fashion/
[Accessed 5 September 2021].

Fifties Web, 2021. Fifties Web. [Online]
Available at: https://fiftiesweb.com/fashion/1950s-mens-fashion/
[Accessed 5 September 2021].

Painter, S., 2021. Interior Design Love to Know. [Online]
Available at: https://interiordesign.lovetoknow.com/interior-design-styles/50s-style-interior-design-ideas
[Accessed 6 September 2021].

Douglas T. Miller, M. N., 1977. The Fifties: The Way We Really Were. 1st ed. New York: Doubleday Books.

Russell, M., 2012. Insider. [Online]
Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-cigarette-ads-spokespeople-2012-5?IR=T#in-1929-lucky-strike-claimed-many-prominent-athletes-smoke-luckies-all-day-long-with-no-harmful-effects-to-wind-or-physical-condition-in-the-1950s-camel-used-hank-aaron-picture
[Accessed 6 September 2021].

Philip B. Meggs, A. W. P., 2016. Meggs History of Graphic Design. 6th Edition ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

R, M., 2016. Widewalls. [Online]
Available at: https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/1950s-art
[Accessed 7 September 2021].

Wikipedia, 2021. Wikipedia. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini
[Accessed 8 September 2021].