New exhibition at the APG|SGA ePoster Gallery: Seeing Red

Collection in Red – on the striking use of a signal colour

Traffic-light red, crimson, cherry red or embers red: the APG|SGA ePoster Gallery, published today, showcases the colour red in posters. A virtual exhibition brings this striking colour to life across a total of thirty designs, spanning from 1923 to the present day. The collection was created in collaboration with the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich and explores the symbolism of the most physical of all colours – one that in advertising often stands for love, heat, anger and strength.

Three times a year, the APG|SGA ePoster Gallery spans the spectrum from current campaigns to the history of poster art, thereby illustrating the impact of advertising both then and now. Examining posters in terms of their use of a particular colour invites us to take a fresh look at their design. The signal colour red has been, and continues to be, used particularly frequently by creative professionals, as the human eye reacts sensitively to this colour stimulus. The nuanced terminology for numerous shades – such as fire red, blood red and crimson – highlights the wide-ranging symbolic power of the colour. ‘Red is perceived as warm and passionate, and is associated with courage and strength. However, the colour also stands for aggression and anger and serves as a warning colour. These connotations are also reflected in linguistic usage, for example in the expressions ‘to see red’ or ‘a red rag’,” explains Nico Lazúla, curator of the poster collection, who selected the posters for the virtual exhibition.

Further information

• A large part of the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich’s poster collection can be searched via the online catalogue:

  https://www.emuseum.ch/

• Reproductions of the digitised posters from the collection can be ordered for private use:

  https://www.emuseum.ch/services;jsessionid=BC3721DBB00C428A90AD7E29B997030D

An Overview of Poster Art

The poster collection at the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich is one of the world’s most significant archives of its kind. Around 350,000 items, of which some 150,000 have been digitally catalogued, document the history of Swiss and international poster design from its beginnings to the present day. From this collection, a series of virtual special exhibitions is being produced for the APG|SGA eMuseum, which has been providing financial and cultural support to the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich for many years. The diversity in historical, thematic and geographical terms enables both a ‘tour d’horizon’ of poster art and a glimpse into a visual archive of everyday life.