Art deco: the golden age of poster design

Getting on the tube these days means being bombarded with dozens of ugly advertisements, selling you everything from whisky, to electric toothbrushes and LED facemasks. However, things weren’t always this way.

Unlike today’s dull Underground adverts, tube stations during the 1920s and 30s were adorned with strikingly vibrant art deco posters that promoted things to do and places to go around London. Over a hundred of these are exhibited at the London Transport Museum’s latest temporary exhibition, Art Deco: the golden age of poster design, alongside objects like a cigarette case, compact mirror, and tea set that express the decadence of that period. 

Back then, a post-war economic boom had propelled consumerism, affording people more leisure time than ever.  Speed, freedom, and opportunity became the ethos of an era that could harness industrial technology in recreation rather than warfare. Such carefreeness is reflected in the bold colours, opulent typefaces, sharp geometry, and indulgent scenes of Londoners enjoying a day out. While a younger audience will be drawn to their vintage aesthetic, older visitors might find them charmingly nostalgic.

Art deco didn’t get its name until the 1960s when it came under academic scrutiny; during its day it was simply known as Style Moderne. Which is fitting because many of the artists regularly commissioned by London Transport took vivid inspiration from modernist art movements such as cubism, futurism, and vorticism; unknowingly shaping art deco into a style of its own. Thus, tube stations were transformed into pseudo-art galleries which were far more accessible to regular people than traditional art institutions. But despite their meticulous beauty, these posters are still advertisements pedalling the cost, efficiency, and reach of the transport network. Many incorporate figures from Classical mythology, subtly elevating passengers into the fable of cheap fares and peak-time frequency. Meanwhile one Herrick poster instructs us to ‘Buy British Goods’. 

The carefreeness of the ’20s is reflected in the bold colours, opulent typefaces, sharp geometry, and indulgent scenes.

The show is curated seamlessly, grouping posters by the different facets of London they’re promoting, leaving you feeling the city’s grand scale. Similar posters from Japan and France are included, demonstrating strong research and showing how art deco was embraced by the rail industry beyond just London. Archival photographs of old train carriages and tube stations not only break up the monotony of the posters but also convey how art deco was incorporated into the engineering and architecture of the transport network. Even if the style begins to feel a bit samey, that effect quickly wears off when you leave the museum and board a real train where you’re ambushed by today’s stale marketing. 

Remember, these posters come from a period when rail services were nationalised. The city’s attractions were advertised more than products and commodities. Nowadays, the balance has tipped the other way, especially since the privatisation of rail. Among other things, the exhibition is a fascinating exploration of how transport marketing has shifted. Though tourists might feel a bit lost in this show without the context of having lived here, the charming beauty of the posters will keep them from being completely alienated. But the jury is still out on whether this show is worth the £25 for an annual pass to the London Transport Museum, annoyingly the only way to access it.

Even though art deco went out of style with the Great Depression and then WWII a decade later, it endures as a luxurious moment in history. Women had recently gained voting rights and it was no longer taboo to wear makeup and smoke. These posters render this glittering freedom in the fashion of the times; cloche hats, cropped haircuts, and flapper dresses. You can almost hear the jazz blaring in the background.