We love vintage travel posters — but how about futuristic space travel posters designed in vintage style? Yes: NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Institute of Technology (JPL) have commissioned a new set of 14 posters celebrating space travel — and they are available — FREE — for us to download, print, hang… and ponder. We also found where you can buy already-printed copies of some of the posters, too.
(P.S. We know we’re late to the www party celebrating these posters, but we need to feature this story anyway, for all present and future retro-crazy generations.)
The 14 space travel posters:
From the news release:
Imagination is our window into the future. New travel posters from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, envision a day when the creativity of scientists and engineers will allow us to do things we can only dream of now.
You can take a virtual trip to 14 alien worlds, and maybe even plaster your living room with planetary art, via the new, futuristic space tourism posters. The posters are available free for downloading and printing at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future/
Last year, five posters depicting planets beyond our solar system were introduced as part of JPL’s Exoplanet Travel Bureau series. They are included in the latest set of 14 posters, which also show such locales as Mars, Jupiter’s moon Europa, Saturn’s vapor-spewing moon Enceladus, and the dwarf planet Ceres.
The posters are the brainchild of The Studio at JPL, a design and strategy team that works with JPL scientists and engineers to visualize and depict complex science and technology topics. Their work is used in designing space missions and in sharing the work of NASA/JPL with the public.
A shout-out to the Smithsonian, where Pam first read about these posters.
Two designs by Invisible Creature also for sale as posters:
The Seattle design firm Invisible Creature — owned by brothers Don and Ryan Clark — created three of the posters: The Grand Tour, Mars, and Enceladus. Invisible Creature made prints of three of the posters — UPDATE 3/16/16: They now have the all three of their posters in a special pop-up shop.
Download the posters from NASA/JPL here:
Buy two posters from sale from Invisible Creature here:
- >> The design firm Invisible Creature created three of the posters and has 24″ x 36″ prints of them available (one already sold out).
Onawa says
Library of congress has a ton of wpa posters available for free download-if you’re willing to slog through their website. I found one I had been coveting and had it printed through a local photo lab once I resized it, and it looks great.
pam kueber says
Thanks for the tip! Maybe we will do a followup! THANKS!
carolynapplebee says
i love that picture of the artist at his desk. i had dreams of being an illustrator growing up, but i had no talent!! sometimes you see this cool stuff and forget someone actually sat down and created it for us to enjoy 50 years later.
Heidi E. says
O M G!!!!! MUST have! Squeeeee!
JaniceW says
Just printed The Grand Tour on our gigantic printer here at work so I can hang it on my office wall. It’s gorgeous!
pam kueber says
Wow, so cool you have a gigantic printer at work!
Amber says
Wow, I love the first one! I’ve always enjoyed the streak of fascination with space and science I see in some Atomic Ranch stuff, part of what I find so attractive about that style it is the embrace of science and technology as well as hope for the future and enthusiasm for adventure. It did not seem to be an anti-intellectual period, everyone was so excited to try new things and new technologies. I love the rocket ship wall papers and curtains and atomic symbols and these posters would fit right in!
Douglas Camin @ House on Rynkus Hill says
I’m working on getting a few of these printed to put up in my office at work. It’s an awesome project!
Jeneta says
LOVE IT! Awesome! Thanks ????????
Judy H. says
in a word…awesome.
Carolyn says
Having been born in 1957 to parents who lived through the Depression and WWII, I was immersed in this culture of “can-do” spirit and American know-how (or figure it out-how.) I’m influenced by Art Deco, Frank Lloyd Wright, Brooks Stevens, all of them – it’s no wonder I visit the Retro renovation website.
It’s not just the futuristic and timeless design that is attractive but the built to last mindset that allow us to hold in our hands items made so many years ago. Artists are having to look to the past to envision the future since so much of what is being produced now in our “next big thing” society” has the staying power of tissue paper.
When I advise my grandkids on “style”, I direct them to this era. While “fashion” comes and goes, “style” is ageless.
pam kueber says
It’s only 9:29 a.m. and I already have my quote of the day:
Thank you, Carolyn!
Carolyn says
Yeah, I was pretty impressed with that myself, very deep and profound – don’t know who I was channeling!
Kelly Wittenauer says
So well said!
linda h says
So fun! Even before Star Trek in 1967 I was dreaming of space travel as a child.
linda h says
Should probably also mention that John Glenn was my biggest childhood hero .