American Mid-Century Modernism × Googie

Both share post-war optimism; combine biomorphic cut shapes with Googie starbursts for retro mid-century branding.

From the research on American Mid-Century Modernism

Mix them and make something American Mid-Century Modernism Googie

A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Googie, their arrangement from American Mid-Century Modernism, the finish from American Mid-Century Modernism. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

American Mid-Century Modernism Googie & Atomic Age

Type from Googie: Script
Hand-lettering
Colour from American Mid-Century Modernism: Limited spot colours
Flat fields
Form from Googie: Angular & zigzag
Cosmic & celestial
Composition from American Mid-Century Modernism: Dynamic asymmetry
Collage & layering
Surface from American Mid-Century Modernism: Flat

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · Googie

Wow

Yellowtail, standing in for Brush Script (Robert E. Smith, 1942)

Text · American Mid-Century Modernism

The American synthesis of European avant-garde form with wit, pragmatism and commercial clients, led by Paul Rand, Alvin Lustig, Lester Beall, Bradbury Thompson and Saul Bass. Asymmetric layouts, cut-paper and collaged shapes, photomontage, playful hand-drawn marks and a few bright flat colours turned book jackets, magazines, advertising, film titles and corporate work into idea-driven visual puns.

Jost; American Mid-Century Modernism used Futura and Bodoni

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from American Mid-Century Modernism, with a counter-accent from Googie. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

American Mid-Century Modernism Googie & Atomic Age

#f2ede1 ground · 36%
#1a1a1a ink · 14%
#e2a83a accent · 18%
#f2673a accent · 14%
#2f5f8a accent · 10%
#5c7a3e accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #f2ede1;
  --ink: #1a1a1a;
  --accent-1: #e2a83a;
  --accent-2: #f2673a;
  --accent-3: #2f5f8a;
  --accent-4: #5c7a3e;
  --font-display: "Yellowtail", cursive;
  --font-text: "Jost", sans-serif;
}

The two styles

A backpacked hiker stands on a steep, black-and-cream rocky summit against a large golden sun, with blue mountain ranges, forests and pale waterways below. Large condensed lettering at the upper left reads “HIGHER GROUND” in black and red.

1940–1970 · North America American Mid-Century Modernism The American synthesis of European avant-garde form with wit, pragmatism and commercial clients, led by Paul Rand, Alvin Lustig, Lester Beall, Bradbury Thompson and Saul Bass. Asymmetric layouts, cut-paper and collaged shapes, photomontage, playful hand-drawn marks and a few bright flat colours turned book jackets, magazines, advertising, film titles and corporate work into idea-driven visual puns.

A glowing retro space-themed sign reads “Orbit Bites” in large turquoise and orange cursive on a dark navy background. A rocket, ringed planet, starbursts, sweeping yellow trails and angular pink panels surround the lettering.

1945–1965 · North America Googie & Atomic Age The exuberant commercial modernism of post-war American roadside culture (coffee shops, motels, car washes, bowling alleys and neon signs), named in 1952 by critic Douglas Haskell after John Lautner's Googie's coffee shop in Los Angeles (1949). Upswept roofs, boomerangs, starbursts, atoms and parabolic arches worked as giant signs for passing drivers, with casual scripts and neon promising a Space Age future.

American Mid-Century Modernism × Googie

What each style brings

The type

The colours

As CSS

The two styles

More combinations

With American Mid-Century Modernism

With Googie