The poster is perhaps the purest form of graphic design—a single surface, a split second to capture attention, an idea that must land instantly. From Shigeo Fukuda's mind-bending optical illusions to the Swiss-inspired minimalism of modern music posters, this collection celebrates the art of visual impact. These aren't just advertisements; they're artifacts.
Shigeo Fukuda was a master of optical illusion. This 1975 exhibition poster—the legs flip between pointing up and down depending on how you look at them, high heels creating a mesmerizing rhythm. Black and white, no gimmicks, just visual wit executed perfectly. One of the greats of Japanese graphic design.
by Unknown
Alternative poster for Ex Machina. The mesh over the profile creates a visual metaphor for Ava's synthetic nature—human form, mechanical reality. That coral red is bold and unsettling. Custom typography with geometric letterforms fits the futuristic aesthetic.
Copenhagen's oldest art gallery celebrating 200 years. The cow portrait rendered in stippling or ASCII-style dots on pure black—Warhol but with Nordic restraint. Clean serif typography up top contrasting with the textured illustration. Kulturnatten is when Copenhagen's cultural institutions open late, and this poster makes you want to be there.
Two fuzzy gradient spheres meeting in the middle, yellow glow where they touch. Sunrise crossed with pharmaceutical aesthetics. Maro Invention makes digital gradients feel tactile—reminds me of 80s airbrushed album covers but more refined. The vertical text adds Swiss rigor to balance the organic blur.
by DoomsdayLLC
Three wavy bacon strips rendered in that red-tan gradient, Swiss typography below with Japanese translation. Mid-century meets kawaii. The cream background and retro aesthetic work so well together. Part of a series of minimalist breakfast posters—Dieter Rams if he really loved brunch.
by Devin Sager
Swiss Ritual is one of my favorite ongoing design projects—Devin Sager reimagines album covers through Swiss minimalism. This take on Modest Mouse's 2015 album strips away everything except concentric rounded-corner lines creating an organic pill shape. Burgundy and white. Like the album cover went to Basel and came back all refined.
Italian graphic design from the golden era hits different... Armando Milani's PSICHE poster is pure intensity. Those fragmented eyes staring right through you, the bold sans-serif cutting across. It's about the psyche, and you feel it. Grafica Italiana at its most powerful and confrontational.
by W. W. Norton
Book cover design doesn't get much better than this. The wolf curling into itself, biting its own tail in this ouroboros of identity... perfectly capturing Hesse's novel about the duality of human nature. That grainy texture, the bold red typography. Kurt Beals' design makes you want to read it immediately.