# Psychedelic Poster

> The concert-poster language of the 1960s counterculture, born in San Francisco's Fillmore and Avalon ballrooms and echoed in London's underground press. Hand-drawn letters melt and swell to fill whole shapes, Art Nouveau and Vienna Secession curves are revived at hallucinatory intensity, and vibrating complementary or fluorescent colours make reading a slow, immersive act.

- Period: 1965–1973
- Where: North America, Western Europe
- Origin: San Francisco (Fillmore and Avalon ballrooms, Haight-Ashbury) and London's underground
- Branch: Counterculture
- Also known as: Psychedelic Art, San Francisco Rock Poster, Fillmore Poster
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/psychedelic/

## How it works

- Draw the lettering by hand and warp it to fill a shape (a flame, a figure, a balloon) until the words become a texture.
- Place complementary hues of equal value edge to edge so the boundary vibrates.
- Revive Art Nouveau and Vienna Secession curves, borders and maidens at hallucinatory intensity.
- Fill every inch of the sheet and let the reader decode the poster slowly rather than at a glance.
- Collage Victorian engravings, old photographs and Eastern symbols into a timeless, mystical tableau.
- Print in fluorescent and split-fountain inks so colour glows and shifts across the sheet.

## Its design choices

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

### Layout & composition
- [Organic flow](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/organic-flow/) (defining)
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (characteristic)
- [Radial & concentric](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/radial-and-concentric/) (characteristic)
- [Collage & layering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/collage-and-layering/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Horror vacui](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/horror-vacui/) (defining)
- [Flat hierarchy](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-hierarchy/) (characteristic)

### Typography
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (defining)
- [Experimental & distorted](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/experimental-and-distorted/) (characteristic)
- [Tight setting](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/tight-setting/) (characteristic)
- [Ornamented display](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornamented-display/) (characteristic)

### Colour
- [Complementary clash](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/complementary-clash/) (defining)
- [Fluorescent & neon](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/fluorescent-and-neon/) (characteristic)
- [Full polychrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/full-polychrome/) (characteristic)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (characteristic)
- [Gradients](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/gradients/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Whiplash line](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/whiplash-line/) (defining)
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (characteristic)
- [Optical pattern](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/optical-pattern/) (characteristic)
- [Distortion & exaggeration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/distortion-and-exaggeration/) (occasional)

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

### Ornament
- [Abundant decoration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/abundant-decoration/) (defining)
- [Floral & vegetal](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/floral-and-vegetal/) (characteristic)
- [Borders & frames](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/borders-and-frames/) (characteristic)
- [Folk & sacred symbols](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/folk-and-sacred-symbols/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Found & vernacular imagery](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/found-and-vernacular-imagery/) (characteristic)
- [Photomontage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/photomontage/) (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)
- [Screen printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/screen-printing/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Spiritual & sacred](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/spiritual-and-sacred/) (characteristic)
- [Rebellious & subversive](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rebellious-and-subversive/) (characteristic)
- [Communal & popular](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/communal-and-popular/) (characteristic)
- [Romantic & sensual](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/romantic-and-sensual/) (occasional)
- [Nostalgic & retro](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/nostalgic-and-retro/) (occasional)

Avoids: Modular grid, Classical text block, Grotesque & neo-grotesque, Flush left, ragged right, Generous white space, Ornament-free, Rational & objective

Palette: #ff6a13, #e4007c, #2e3192, #8cc63f, #ffd200, #6a2c91

Typefaces: Hand-drawn melting lettering after Alfred Roller (Wes Wilson), Victorian wood-type and Tuscan display faces, Arnold Böcklin, Davida

Known for: Wes Wilson (Fillmore Auditorium posters for Bill Graham, 1966–67); Victor Moscoso (Neon Rose series); Rick Griffin (Grateful Dead, Aoxomoxoa, 1969); Stanley Mouse & Alton Kelley (Family Dog / Avalon Ballroom posters); Bonnie MacLean (Fillmore posters); Hapshash and the Coloured Coat (Michael English & Nigel Waymouth, London); Martin Sharp (Oz magazine)

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

- Grew out of: [Art Nouveau](https://stylogeny.com/styles/art-nouveau.md) (1890–1910)
- Influenced by: [Vienna Secession](https://stylogeny.com/styles/vienna-secession.md) (1897–1918)
- Influenced by: [Op Art Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/op-art.md) (1960–1975)
- Influenced by: [Pop Art Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/pop-art.md) (1955–1975)
- Led to: [Afrofuturist Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/afrofuturism.md) (1970–present)
- Led to: [Australian Poster Collective Screenprints](https://stylogeny.com/styles/australian-poster-collectives.md) (1971–1994)
- Led to: [Rave & Acid House Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/rave-flyer.md) (1988–2000)
- Led to: [Screenprinted Gig & Alt-Movie Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/screenprint-gig-poster.md) (1991–present)
- Alike in its design choices: [Tropicália Graphic Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/tropicalia-graphics.md) (1964–1975), 63% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Mithila (Madhubani) Painting](https://stylogeny.com/styles/mithila-painting.md) (c. 1350–present), 59% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Angura Theatre Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/angura-poster.md) (1965–1985), 59% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Bezalel School](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bezalel-school.md) (1906–1929), 55% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Guna Mola](https://stylogeny.com/styles/guna-mola.md) (1900–present), 52% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Push Pin Style](https://stylogeny.com/styles/push-pin.md) (1954–1980), 50% alike

## Real works

- [Byrds Byrds Byrds (Bill Graham presents The Byrds and other bands, Winterland and Fillmore Auditorium)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O75994/): Wes Wilson, 1967 (concerts 31 March–2 April 1967), Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.396-1968)
- [The Yardbirds / The Doors, James Cotton Blues Band, Richie Havens, Fillmore (Bill Graham presents)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O108959/): Bonnie MacLean, 1967 (concerts 25–30 July 1967), Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.421-2004)
- [Neon Rose #2 (The Miller Blues Band at the Matrix, 10–15 January 1967)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1023103/): Victor Moscoso, 1967, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.624-2004)
- ['Flying Eyeball' poster (Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Albert King; Fillmore and Winterland)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1376448/): Rick Griffin, 1968 (concerts 1–4 February 1968), Victoria and Albert Museum, London (S.169-2021)
- [The Move and Pink Floyd at UFO](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O129217/): Hapshash and the Coloured Coat (Michael English and Nigel Waymouth), 1967, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.1708-1991)

## Sources

- Philip B. Meggs & Alston W. Purvis, Meggs' History of Graphic Design
- Paul D. Grushkin, The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk (1987)
- Delaware Art Museum, Wes Wilson, The Sound (1966): https://emuseum.delart.org/objects/8178/the-sound

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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, “Psychedelic Poster”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/psychedelic/