# Iranian Modernist Graphic Design

> Iranian graphic design came of age in the 1960s and 1970s. Morteza Momayez, Farshid Mesghali, Ghobad Shiva and Guity Novin worked for magazines, the Kanoon children's institute and film and arts festivals, and built a modern visual language from Persian calligraphy, miniature and folk imagery and the conceptual poster of the Polish school. From the 1990s Reza Abedini's generation made Persian letterforms themselves into dense, architectural poster compositions.

- Period: 1960–present
- Where: Middle East & North Africa
- Origin: Tehran, Iran
- Branch: Rational modernism
- Also known as: Iranian graphic design, Persian modernism, Tehran school of graphic design
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/persian-modernism/

## How it works

- Make Persian letterforms the protagonist: stretch, stack and interlock Nastaʿlīq or geometric Kufic until the text becomes the image.
- Condense the message into one conceptual symbol or visual metaphor, in the manner of a cultural poster rather than an advertisement.
- Reduce motifs from miniature painting, tilework and folk objects to flat, simplified silhouettes.
- Anchor the composition on a strong vertical or central axis, often heavy black against a light or earthy ground.
- In typographic posters, layer photography with calligraphic texture but keep the palette restricted.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (characteristic)
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (characteristic)
- [Collage & layering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/collage-and-layering/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (defining)
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (characteristic)
- [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (characteristic)
- [Horror vacui](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/horror-vacui/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Brush & pen calligraphy](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/brush-and-pen-calligraphy/) (defining)
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (defining)
- [Type as image](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/type-as-image/) (defining)
- [Experimental & distorted](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/experimental-and-distorted/) (characteristic)
- [Tight setting](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/tight-setting/) (characteristic)

### Colour
- [Limited spot colours](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/) (defining)
- [Earth & mineral](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/earth-and-mineral/) (characteristic)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (characteristic)
- [Dark ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dark-ground/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (characteristic)
- [Non-representational](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/non-representational/) (occasional)
- [Geometric primitives](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (characteristic)

### Ornament
- [Folk & sacred symbols](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/folk-and-sacred-symbols/) (characteristic)
- [Restrained accents](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/restrained-accents/) (characteristic)

### Imagery
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Typography only](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/typography-only/) (characteristic)
- [Treated photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/treated-photography/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Offset printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/offset-printing/) (characteristic)
- [Pen, brush & ink](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pen-brush-and-ink/) (characteristic)

### Tone & intent
- [Calm & contemplative](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/calm-and-contemplative/) (characteristic)
- [Spiritual & sacred](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/spiritual-and-sacred/) (occasional)
- [Agitational & persuasive](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/agitational-and-persuasive/) (occasional)

Avoids: Gloss & highlights, Chrome & 3D render, Fluorescent & neon, Found & vernacular imagery, Ornamented display, Cards & bento tiles

Palette: #efe6d2, #1a1a1a, #b0322a, #1d6f8a, #c49a3a

Typefaces: Nastaʿlīq, Shekasteh Nastaʿlīq, Naskh, Bannāʾī (square Kufic), Hand-drawn geometric Persian display lettering

Known for: Morteza Momayez (posters, logos and book covers; first Iranian member of AGI); Farshid Mesghali (head of the Kanoon graphic studio in the 1970s; Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration, 1974); Ghobad Shiva; Guity Novin (material for the first Tehran International Film Festival); Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon); Shiraz Arts Festival posters (1967–1977); Reza Abedini (typographic posters, 1990s onwards)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Polish Poster School](https://stylogeny.com/styles/polish-poster-school.md) (1950–1990)
- Influenced by: [Islamic Geometric & Calligraphic Tradition](https://stylogeny.com/styles/islamic-geometric.md) (c. 690–present)
- Influenced by: [Push Pin Style](https://stylogeny.com/styles/push-pin.md) (1954–1980)
- Influenced by: [Hurufiyya Calligraphic Modernism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/hurufiyya.md) (1949–present)
- Influenced by: [Persian Miniature (Ilkhanid, Timurid and Safavid Book Painting)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/persian-miniature.md) (c. 1300–1700)
- Led to: [Woman, Life, Freedom Protest Graphics (Iran and the Diaspora)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/woman-life-freedom-graphics.md) (2022–present)
- Alike in its design choices: [Turkish Modernist Poster & Graphic Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/turkish-modernist-graphics.md) (1959–2000), 75% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Zoomorphic & Figural Calligraphy (Islamic Calligrams)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/zoomorphic-calligraphy.md) (1500–present), 73% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Puerto Rican Silkscreen Poster (DIVEDCO & ICP)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/puerto-rican-silkscreen-poster.md) (1946–1989), 68% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Hong Kong East–West Graphic Modernism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/hong-kong-modernism.md) (1964–present), 67% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Solidarność & Polish Underground Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/solidarnosc-graphics.md) (1980–1989), 66% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Republican Chinese Book Cover Design (Lu Xun & Tao Yuanqing)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/republican-china-book-design.md) (1923–1949), 66% alike

## Real works

- [12th Festival of Arts Shiraz/Persepolis (Jashn-e Honar), poster](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Derni%C3%A8re_affiche_du_festival_des_arts_de_Shiraz-Pers%C3%A9polis_(mus%C3%A9e_d%27art_moderne,_Paris)_(14553342799).jpg): Ghobad Shiva, 1978, Collection of Ghobad Shiva; shown in 'Unedited History: Iran 1960–2014', Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 2014 (exhibition photograph on Wikimedia Commons)
- [Gaav (The Cow), film poster](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaav_movie_poster.jpg): Farshid Mesghali (printed credit 'design by Farshid'; printer Chehel-o-Do), c. 1969 (undated sheet; the film was completed in 1969), Wikimedia Commons scan, from a yjc.ir image gallery (no holding institution recorded)
- [Gavaznha (The Deer), film poster](https://dc.library.northwestern.edu/items/2cd0d633-3d2e-4dd0-90f1-8ee7562ddf8e): Morteza Momayez, 1974, Northwestern University Libraries, Hamid Naficy Iranian and Middle Eastern Movie Posters Collection
- [Banoo-ye Ordibehesht (The May Lady), film flyer](https://dc.library.northwestern.edu/items/f5bd70c3-0385-43a9-a1c6-64c5f4f09abd): Reza Abedini, 1997, Northwestern University Libraries, Hamid Naficy Iranian and Middle Eastern Movie Posters Collection

## Sources

- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'Graphic Arts' (https://iranicaonline.org/articles/graphic-arts)
- Grapheine, 'Graphic design in Iran: Persian heritage and modernity' (https://www.grapheine.com/en/graphic-design-en/graphic-design-in-iran-persian-heritage-and-modernity)
- Print, 'A New Book Shares the Artistic Odyssey of Iranian Designer Farshid Mesghali' (https://www.printmag.com/international-design/book-shares-artistic-work-of-iranian-designer-farshid-mesghali/)

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Iranian Modernist Graphic Design”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/persian-modernism/