How Posters Work

press release: As a medium of communication, the poster has a long history and a wide range of social functions, from selling a product to promoting a cause. Despite the rise of digital media, the print poster remains a vital and oftentimes radical form of visual communication. 

Featuring rarely-seen posters from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s permanent collection, alongside loans from the Merrill C. Berman collection, How Posters Work demonstrates how some of the world’s most creative designers have employed and pushed the boundaries of two-dimensional design, harnessed the mechanics and psychology of perception, and mastered the art of storytelling to produce powerful acts of visual communication. The exhibition includes work by prominent designers, including Lucian Bernhard, Herbert Bayer and Josef Müller-Brockmann, together with a large number of prominent contemporary designers. The exhibition dissects the designers’ creative uses of design principles and visual expression to underscore the significance of a designer’s and the viewer’s eye to the design process. 

This traveling exhibition is complemented by a presentation of work by nationally recognized Milwaukee graphic designers, including posters by Lois Ehlert and catalogues by John J. Reiss.