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.

Why are people going to such great lengths? There was a time when 1960s styling would be regarded as ugly and hopelessly old fashioned. Town and city planners have rushed to demolish concrete eyesores that maybe now would be regarded with some nostalgia and respect. The works of graphic designers such as Saul Bass and Paul Rand are now regarded as classics and to imitate these giants of graphic design is now seen as cool and clever.

Taking the “retro” concept to its absolute limit is the shady other-world of Steampunk. It’s been around for a while now but essentially clothes modern equipment with 19th century form and function.

The Harry Potter phenomenon and the Disney/Pixar movies “Cars” and “Robots” borrow heavily from this genre. Being a person of a certain age, I like it! To borrow a catch phrase from one of my friends, “The future is in the Past”.

(Opinion: John Dawkins – Designer)