The semi-finals of the World Cup begin today, and soccer, er, football fever—though slightly dimmer now Stateside—is ramping back up for the rest of the world. Which makes it a perfect time to check in with one superfan-slash-designer, who redesigned each official World Cup poster for fun.
James Campbell Taylor, a NYC-based graphic designer, took it upon himself to redesign each World Cup poster going back to 1930. I ran across his collection after realizing that some sites had mistaken Taylor’s faux-posters as the real historical thing. It’s easy to see why: Each of the posters looks like a little piece of graphic design history from that era. Italy in 1934 looks like it was ripped from a book about the Italian Futurism of Mussolini’s day. Switzerland in 1954? Done up against an impeccable Swiss grid.
“The project was essentially an exercise to convey the period, place and mood of each tournament through graphic design,” Taylor told me over email. “Naturally each World Cup has its own very particular feel, much of which stems from the climate and culture of the host nation, yet I felt this was something the official tournament posters hadn’t always managed to reflect.”
So, what do you think? Do Taylor’s versions beat the real thing? Check them out below. [Pennarello Graphic Design]
