[Designed] Bern Hill Railroad Posters

Jobs:

See more on the Job Board.

[Designed] Bern Hill Railroad Posters Jason F. Nov 10

13 comments Latest by David S

Some beautiful 1950s railroad posters from the cover of Railway Age Magazine. Illustrations by Bern Hill. You can check out the collection on Antiques Roadshow.

Looking for a job? Got a position to fill? Check out the Job Board.

Got a web design project in mind? Find a web designer on Haystack. Browse by visual style, portfolio, budget, and geographic location.

Over 1 million people use 37signals' simple web-based software to collaborate on projects, track contacts, and organize their business with an intranet.

13 comments so far

Brad 10 Nov 09

Wow. These are really a-track-tive. That designer must have had a lot of training.

Jim Gay 10 Nov 09

+1 Brad

Bob 10 Nov 09

Love the perspective on #2 and #3.

Alex Young 10 Nov 09

These really remind me of Ayn Rand – Atlas Shrugged.

Kevin Holesh 10 Nov 09

I love the perspective on the first one.

@Alex, Taggart Transcontinental!

Girish 10 Nov 09

Santa Fe poster is fantastic, ofcourse so are the others.

Blue Sail Creative 10 Nov 09

These definitely have that “Atlas Shrugged” type of look. If you look up the book cover, it has the same look.

Elsa Solender 10 Nov 09

I really wish someone would put together a book of Bern Hill’s posters. I can’t afford to buy one, but I would pay to have a collection of them in book form.

Arash Zafarnia 10 Nov 09

Coincidentally, Kanye West posted this video on his blog, of a 1958 Disneyland TV prediction on the highway of the future. Simple in its color and appearance, still lofty in its predictions :)

http://bit.ly/29bzjM

Daniel 10 Nov 09

Reminds me of some 1950s Danish railway posters too (but I suppose every country had railway posters in that general modernist style at that time). Some examples:

A reminder to unload your cargo quickly to save money – motif very much like the 3rd poster above

Bridges seem like a popular motif, too

Illsutrator/graphic designer Aage Rasmussen also did a poster of the same bridge, but he also created what is likely the most famous of the Danish railway posters: An ad for the the new high-speed trains (120kph!) (couldn’t find larger res, sorry)

By the way, this site is a good place to see more stuff like this: International Poster Gallery

David 11 Nov 09

Saw this episode of ARS . Surprised to hear the guy say that the original artwork was less valuable than the posters.

David S 12 Nov 09

What strikes me is just how powerful these posters feel...they have a nearly physical impact, and convey very strong emotion that goes deeper than just a cerebral appreciation.

And totally without words or typography. Just the colors, shapes and division of the space (which has remarkable balance).

Hard to imagine being able to improve upon them.

Who are 37signals?

Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson, Sarah Hatter, Ryan Singer, Sam Stephenson, Jamie Dihiansan, and Michael Berger in Chicago, Matt Linderman in NYC, Mark Imbriaco in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Jeremy Kemper in Pasadena, California, Jeffrey Hardy in Vineland, Ontario, Joshua Sierles in Granada, Spain, Jason Zimdars in Oklahoma City, Craig Davey in Ottawa, Ontario, and Mr. Jamis Buck in Caldwell, Idaho.

Peruse the Signal vs. Noise archives

This is Signal vs. Noise, a weblog by 37signals about design, business, experience, simplicity, the web, culture, and more. Established 1999 in Chicago. Visit the Product Blog for more information on our products.

Jobs: