Denmark-headquartered ferry operator DFDS will be celebrating its 150th anniversary this December, and has chosen to celebrate this by commissioning a collection of memorable advertising posters harking back to the golden age of marine transport in the 1930s.
When Danish industrialist Carl Frederik Tietgen, created Det Forende Dampskibs-Selskab (The United Steamship Company), mass produced posters were yet to be widely seen. It was only with the introduction of lithography that companies could create full colour posters to advertise with and it didn't take long before travel companies and operators were making the most of this new medium to inspire and entice the public.
DFDS states that ‘Art Deco, as a style, allows a lot of opportunity to create exciting images using negative space and bold shapes to represent specific concepts. It's possible to be as realistic or imaginative as we want, a concept legendary poster designers of their day, such as A.M. Cassandre and Raymond Loewy made full use of.’
With its sleek geometrical forms and use of bold colours, the Art Deco style found its voice during this golden age of travel, and this was the general theme chosen for this campaign; one that we at ‘Maritime Journal’ agree has resulted in some striking images.
By Jake Frith
