A Retrospective Analysis of Nostalgia.

Prompted by an awareness of nostalgic trends during the 1960s and 1970s in movies, television programing, fashion, interior design, and architecture, a study compared such trends in graphic design in both magazine articles and magazine advertisements. Specifically, it noted the frequency of occurrence of nostalgia in the two graphic design areas of artwork and display typography and compared them with the use of nostalgic motifs in headlines. The study included 12 magazines representing fashion and design-oriented publications--both general interest and design trade magazines--published from 1959 through 1979, and focused on a total of 11,816 advertisements and 2,511 articles. Findings showed that nostalgic motifs seemed to be used more in designer publications than in consumer publications and that nostalgic themes were used more often in articles than in advertisements. In terms of use in headlines, art, or type, graphic design was more likely to display nostalgic motifs than were the headlines of the article or advertisement. More specifically, type was more likely to be the indicator of nostalgia than was art. The most favored style for nostalgic treatment was the Victorian period. The level of nostalgia also seemed to vary with historical events and periods as evidenced by a visible increase in nostalgia during and following periods of economic recession, as well as following periods of social and civil unrest. (HOD)