The quintessence of good design | You’ll love – two print ads, Pirrografics, Loomis and Toles, 1964

Two advertisements, coincidentally placed side by side, illustrate the cultural divide that emerged in North America during the 1960s. The Pirrografics ad features a mechanical ‘slab-sided gothic’ typeface – a common term for these rigid, constructed sans serifs – while the more fluid, organic lettering of the word ‘love’ in the Loomis & Toles ad captures the spirit of the rising countercultural movement.

What’s particularly striking in the Pirrografics ad is the carefully graduated weight of each letter and word – a detail that reveals the designer’s meticulous attention to balance and contrast. Significant time and care went into crafting this typographic composition.

In contrast, Loomis & Toles – a major art supplier– commissioned graphic designer Walter Stetoff to create a peace-and-love–themed advertisement that tries to embrace the era’s free-spirited, expressive style. – Rod McDonald