While regarding and analyzing the history of Art History, and Graphic Design in particular, it would be relevant to use as an example the poster of one of the greatest and famous graphic artists – Milton Glaser. There is no doubt that all of the three hundred posters designed and illustrated by him successfully fulfilled their functional purpose. One of the most popular and well known Glaser’s posters is the one called “I love New York”. It has been known for every American person and for the vast majority of tourists from all over the world since 1973, as it served as the tourism – campaign symbol of the New York City.
It should be pointed out that the campaign with the usage of this symbol had an enormous success for twenty five years, and would probably have it even longer, but after the tragic aftermath of September eleven in the 2001 year, Glaser decided to update the design of image by adding a dark – black smudge in the lower corner of the red heart (which originally meant word ‘love’). One may suggest that the artist added this detail because of the bitter and hard feelings shared by many other people around the world, but most of all by the New York citizens. The poster was also edited with the symbolic words ‘more than ever’.
Those words are significant as they represent artist’s inside emotions, that he desired to reveal to public. Those words serve as a means of other people’s inside feelings, which they were not able to express previously and this poster helped them in this.
The words ‘more then ever’ also tell the visitors that the city of New York was damaged, but nevertheless it stayed the heart of the United States. Although the brightness of its emotion, energy and cheerfulness (represented by the read heart in the poster) was affected by the great tragedy (represented by the black spot on the read heart), still the happiness and warm emotions (red color in the heart) outweigh the darkness and disparity (the black smudge), therefore the New York city and its people still have the hope in their own hearts and the bitterness of tragedy can not destroy it.
This short, but wise, profound and thoughtful phrase ‘I love New York more than ever’, may tell about the people’s fear to lost New York, and that after the tragedy their love to the city was strengthened by this feeling. One may also assert that the given phrase served as the unification factor for the entire American nation in their view toward the fear of what could have happened to the heart of it; but as the New York City survived and held out against the threat which desired to conquer the freedom – loving spirit of its citizens, the entire nation, united by the symbol of this city, would bravely stand against this threat.
The design style is certainly appropriate to the communication, as it united the same ideas and the feelings of the different people concerning the heart of the United States of America, the New York City, its destiny, and its role in the everyday life of the American nation. There is no doubt that the first poster saying ‘I love New York’ and intended to attract the tourists was great, but the new version of the poster, created by experienced artist Glaser, saying ‘I love New York more than ever’ and intended to unite the nation totally corresponds the new circumstances in the today life of the United States.
Works Cited
Glaser, Milton. Posters. 2008. Web.
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