Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

Design • advertising

Retro Christmas Cards
Written by Christopher in Design

Retro Christmas Cards

From Retro Christmas Card Company, comes a handful of original, well designed retro Holiday Cards that trend with the popularity of 1950s and 1960s themes as seen in the television shows “Mad Men“, “Pan Am” and 2011 film “The Help“. Featuring fun, nostalgic images of 1950’s and ’60’s Retro American Christmas. Set up the aluminum tree, plug in the color wheel, and put Bing on...

The Stylish Art of Kevin Dart
Written by Guest Writer in Design

The Stylish Art of Kevin Dart

Stylish, bouncy, curvaceous, deadly – And she wants her panties back from old men who carry them in briefcases! “Yuki7 and the Gadget Girls” are the Mangaesque brainchildren of L.A. artist Kevin Dart. As books and animation Kevin and 14 other illustrators take you into a “fixties” style milieu of jazzy action and toned down colors to underscore a mood of light hearted murder and...

Pan Am Boeing 747 Cabin Recreated in Garage

Anthony Toth’s home in California holds a hidden treasure unknown to most of the world. From the outside, his garage looks like any garage – but step inside and you are transported back in time to a first class Pan Am Boeing 747 cabin, circa 1979. Anthony, who works as a global sales director for United Airlines has had a lifetime dream of creating his...

Mad Men’s Bacardi fueled Fantasies

While the rest of the Sterling Cooper staff attends a Kentucky Derby party thrown by Roger Sterling and new wife Jane, Peggy and the other writers are stuck in the office to brainstorm ideas for the Bacardi campaign. Bacardi is looking for five vacation situations for their overall concept “Daiquiri Beach.” Peggy and the boys sip on Bacardi for inspiration but find none. Copywriter Paul...

Charles Schridde’s Vision of the Future

Charles Schridde’s illustrations from the early 1960s for Motorola is a great example of the future that never was. The ads were often featured in Life Magazine and depicted a lush, comfy and elegant future, conveniently centered around various Motorola products. I for one, wouldn’t mind living in a pad like the ones Mr. Schridde envisioned. I guess the closest thing would be Disney’s House...

Video

Since the turn of the 20th century, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been fighting to capture the hearts and taste buds of America’s youth. Fifty years into the great carbonation beverage battle, cola companies decided to look for new opportunities and target demographics. In an attempt to lure in diabetics, the cola companies began developing and marketing low-calorie, sugar-free alternatives. As early as the 1950s, Royal...

Retro for the Professional
Written by Steven Padal in Design

Retro for the Professional

For all those photographers out there, the time has come. A high-end retro camera is in your near future. The Fujifilm FinePix X100 not only has a beautiful retro design, it also contains classic features that many will appreciate. It will sport a hybrid view-finder, which will have a window-type “bright frame” optical viewfinder similar to classic 135-size cameras incorporated with an electronic viewfinder system....

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