Jantzen

Joseph Binder prints bring the bright colours and clean, stylised shapes of modernist poster design into your home. Binder was a Viennese graphic designer, one of the pioneers of the modern poster, who moved to New York and created famous posters for the 1939 World's Fair, the US Air Corps and the US Navy. Our collection of fine art prints covers his Austrian travel posters, advertising designs and modernist biblical images.

About Joseph Binder

Joseph Binder was born in Vienna on 3 March 1898. He served a lithography apprenticeship from 1912, fought in the Austro-Hungarian army in the First World War, and in 1922 enrolled at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts under Berthold Löffler, influenced by Secessionist teachers such as Koloman Moser. He married Carla Neuschil in 1924.

That year he set up his own studio, Wiener Graphik, and his poster for Vienna's Music and Theatre Festival, a distinctly Viennese form of Art Deco, made his name. He designed posters, packaging and logos for the coffee importer Julius Meinl, as well as for Thonet, Semperit and Bensdorp. His book Colour in Advertising appeared in 1934.

After lecture tours in the United States he moved to New York in 1936. His winning design for the 1939 New York World's Fair poster and his wartime posters for the US Army Air Corps made him famous. He became a US citizen in 1944 and from 1948 was principal art director for the US Navy, creating a celebrated series of biblical posters for the Navy Chaplains Division. His last commercial client was United Airlines, for whom he designed travel posters in 1957. He died on 26 June 1972.

Style and Subjects

Binder believed in what he called "stylisation": reducing natural forms to simple geometric shapes and flat, high-impact colours. His Viennese posters use bold planes of colour and crisp edges, close to Cubism and Art Deco.

In America his style softened, using the airbrush for smooth gradients and more detail, but kept its strong design, dramatic angles and bright colour. His Navy chaplains' series turns saints and prophets into striking modernist images.

Famous Works

• Vienna Music and Theatre Festival poster (1924). The Art Deco poster that launched his career.
• Julius Meinl designs (1925–29). Posters, packaging and a logo for the Viennese coffee company.
• New York World's Fair poster (1939). His prize-winning poster for the fair.
• Air Corps U.S. Army. A bright yellow wing cutting across a blue sky, one of his most famous posters.
• Jantzen. Advertising for the American swimwear brand.
• Austria. A travel poster for his homeland in bold, flat colour.
• St. Luke (1962). One of his modernist biblical images for the Navy Chaplains Division.

Decorating with Binder Prints

Binder's posters suit modern and mid-century interiors. His Austrian travel posters, like Winter in Austria, are great for a hallway, ski cabin or travel-themed room, and his Jantzen and advertising designs bring vintage fun to a bathroom or kitchen.

His colourful saints and prophets make a striking series for a study, chapel corner or reading room.

FAQ

Who was Joseph Binder?

Joseph Binder (1898–1972) was an Austrian-American graphic designer and painter, one of the pioneers of the modern poster.

What is Joseph Binder known for?

His posters for the 1939 New York World's Fair, the US Army Air Corps and the American Red Cross, his Julius Meinl designs in Vienna and his US Navy work.

What was Binder's design style?

He called it "stylisation": simplifying natural forms into geometric shapes and flat, bold colour, close to Art Deco and Cubism.

Why did Binder make biblical posters?

As principal art director for the US Navy from 1948 he created a series of brightly coloured modernist biblical images for the Navy Chaplains Division.

Related Artists

• Koloman Moser: Viennese Secession designer who influenced him at school
• Julius Klinger: Viennese poster designer of the generation before
• Edward McKnight Kauffer: fellow modernist poster pioneer of the same era