Artifacts from Globe Poster Printing in Baltimore
“Before the digital revolution took over the world of design, some print shops designed and produced their work by hand for a well-inked press. Producing posters, billboards, and even simple handbills required teams of skilled tradespeople.” — Joel Galbreath
Joel Galbreath completed a thesis project for his MFA in Graphic Design at Maryland Institute College of Art in 2009. Entitled Globe Poster Printing: A Partial Collection of Specimens, Galbreath’s project was a nine-month investigation into the “forms, artifacts and aesthetics” of Globe Poster Printing in Baltimore.
That a graphic design thesis was executed to pay homage and bring recognition to the import of specialized tradespeople in the history of graphic design is exciting. Too often we’re content to ogle finished design pieces without a thought to the labor or skill involved in their production. Here’s to Joel for dedicating his time to this investigation, and here’s to job shops like Globe whose ephemeral works translated to a lasting aesthetic contribution to communication design.
Also, the project yielded some rather beautiful printed studies. We’d recommend checking them out.
