«Blow Up»

The Object Poster inaugurated by the Basel School in the 1940s and 50s set a new precedent: The name-brand products that filled the shelves of the new supermarkets now also dominated the picture space as outsized images with undeniable sales-boosting appeal. Designers such as Niklaus Stoecklin and Peter Birkhäuser spotlighted toothpaste tubes and light bulbs as stars on the stage of the still young consumer society. The blow-up proved to be an extremely effective advertising strategy, its focus on a central motif combined with the surprise of super-dimensioning lending the posters high impact. Contemporary designers have applied this approach to other poster genres as well, for example Stephan Bundi and Studio Geissbühler in their cultural posters.