Graphic design, along with the music industry, has often been caught looking over its shoulder at where it has come from.

Very little contemporary music is truly original. It often mimics earlier styles or artists, spawning “tribute” bands and “cover” songs. How many £millions have been made by borrowing the talent and fame of Freddie Mercury or Abba (like them or loathe them)? It’s nothing new. Even Rachmaninov did it in the Romantic era with his “Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini”. In the world of design, we often see earlier styles being re-worked or re-invented. A prime example is the plethora of companies jumping onto the “organic” bandwagon, invariably borrowing styles and colours from the past to generate a particular response in their customers. In America it is a 14 billion dollar a year industry and here in the UK retailers are spending millions to promote their organic produce and eco-friendly products with campaigns that rely on muted, natural colours, traditional imagery and retro graphic styles. But recently a bizarre new twist has emerged. Acquiring the generic term “mashup”, designers are explicitly combining graphic elements from existing work with new content. Designer Huw Gwilliam has convincingly redesigned a set of classic album covers in the style of 1960s Pelican book covers.

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