Inspiration Through Vintage Ads

Vintage advertisements are a thing of beauty because of the simple artistry and technical skill one had to acquire to create catchy looks in a 2D world. Whenever I have the opportunity to design around select elements or genres, I immediately take a look at vintage ads for inspiration. Finding those classic artworks can be sometimes tedious, but here’s a brief list of places to check out.

Your Local Library

Believe or not your local library is probably the best place to visit for vintage ads. Many libraries keep on file old copies of local newspapers on microfilm. Depending on your library’s collection, advertisements could date back to the late 1800s up until current times. I find that from the 1940s to the 1960s does well for my tastes.

Ad*Access – Duke University

Duke University’s Library hosts a digital collection called Ad*Access which contains a huge collection of vintage ads from 1911 to 1955. Works are both in color and duotone, with newspaper clippings in a tinge of yellow age. Ad*Access is usually my first stop because the results are instant without the hassle of dealing with microfilm.

Flickr

Flickr might be for image sharing, but there are people out there that have uploaded vintage ads from all kind of mediums. The results might not be as great as Ad*Access, but there are a few treasures to be looked upon.

Smashing Magazine

An online magazine geared toward web developers, Smashing Magazine has a great and extensive article on vintage advertisements covering numerous design elements with examples. Also check out the links at the bottom of the article. If you are a web developer or designer, this website is a must.

Abduzeedo

Abduzeedo is geared more toward digital design, but there is one article that is for vintage ads that I found intriguing. Fabio Sasso shows his finds from Ad*Access and some other goodies from Flickr.