Designs of the Times: 100 Years of Posters at Cranbrook

Exhibition Dates: December 12, 2015, to March 20, 2016

Designs of the Times was the third exhibition in the Cranbrook Archives ephemera series.  The exhibition, which represented Cranbrook’s diverse audiences by exploring both design and history, illustrated the impact of new technologies and the information age on the poster medium as visual communication. Organized chronologically, the exhibition documented the curatorial, educational, musical, scientific, social, and theatrical events that have enhanced and enriched the Cranbrook community for more than a century.  The posters provided a forum for study, not only of historical events but also of the way they are represented through the poster as a social and cultural medium, reflecting the evolution of poster design in response to the changing needs of society.

Designs of the Times: 100 Years of Posters at Cranbrook was organized by the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research and curated by Head Archivist Leslie S. Edwards and Archivist Gina Tecos.  The Center, which includes Cranbrook Archives, is supported, in part, by its patrons, the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Towbes Foundation of Santa Barbara, California.