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In the 21^st century, graphic design has a freedom of style that allows for a dramatic range of expression across brands, publications, and media. This landscape is very different now from what it was when high modernism first took hold in the early 20^th century, and in some part this freedom is owed to the now legendary Push Pin Studios, who shook up the world of graphic design and illustration in the mid-20^th century. Their eccentric, inspired, and eclectic style not only changed the landscape of graphic design at the time, but their work remains a joy to look at today. My selection of items on this site features designs from three groups of work from Push Pin Studios’ most active years – from their founding in 1954 to the publication of the last Push Pin Graphic in 1980.

Push Pin Graphic

The Push Pin Graphic was one of the studio’s most iconic publications; it was through this that they both made their name known and experimented with innovative styles. Each issue would often have a theme, and would feature both contributing writers and illustrators. Through the Push Pin Graphic, many of the designers’ style evolutions can be traced. As Seymour Chwast describes, “My aspiring German expressionism of the fifties turned into my own kind of flat proto-art deco in the sixties and surrealism in the seventies. The elegant drawings of Milton Glaser and James McMullan were less subject to mainstream evolution while Paul Davis’ paintings were salve to no trend and inspired others, notably with his folk art style.”1 1. Seymour Chwast, preface to The Push Pin Graphic: A Quarter Century of Innovative Design and Illustration, ed. Steven Heller and Martin Venezky (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2004), 7.

Posters

Push Pin was often involved with both commissioned and independent poster work, and designed for concerts, events, activism, and more. Here, you’ll find a selection of posters that address a range of subject matter – from protest of the war in Vietnam to the celebration of the first Earth Day, as well as posters designed for exhibitions of the Studios’ work.

Book Covers

Among the Studios’ many endeavors was also an enduring practice in whimsical and eccentric book cover designs. From original publications to reprints of classics, Push Pin received commissions to imagine playful and peculiar designs that would draw a reader in. Many of the items included here are uncolored drafts from the AIGA Design Archives, but even in their black and white state, are just as fantastic as their colored final products.