ENA IZAWA

Chapter 1 (Wilderness and recontextualising the relationship between humans and nature)

Branding the US National Parks

This article explores the historical evolution of graphic design in U.S. National Parks printed materials, demonstrating how these designs reflected broader shifts in government aesthetics and set precedents for modern graphic design trends. It reveals the unique and diverse creative approaches before the standardization introduced by Massimo Vignelli's Unigrid system, which brought efficiency and lasting uniformity to government communications.

Takeaways:

Early National Parks brochures served as promotional tools to convince the public and government to preserve natural lands, using black-and-white photography and text-heavy layouts.

Design styles varied widely across parks and decades, reflecting broader graphic design trends from serif and script fonts to psychedelic and op-art influences of the 1960s.

The NPS design evolution mirrors technological and cultural changes, showing how government agencies have used visual communication to establish identity and influence public opinion.

Massimo Vignelli’s 1977 Unigrid system standardized the NPS' printed materials using a modular grid, combining efficiency with a timeless minimalist aesthetic still in use today.

The diversity and creativity before standardization highlight a decentralized, artist-driven approach that contrasts sharply with later uniform government branding.