About the Collection
Virginia Tech is home to one of the largest Swiss poster collections in the Americas, due to the generous donation by the designers Dennis Ichiyama and Oscar Fernández in 2023. The collection of posters are largely advertisements known to be wheatpasted and posted in the streets of Europe. The bulk of the collection contains posters ranging from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s with some from the 1960s to the 2010s.
About the donor,
Oscar Fernández Oscar Fernández is an Associate Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati, who specializes in information design, symbol systems, comprehensive typography, wayfinding programs, human-centered design and communication design history. He previously held adjunct and associate professorships at Carnegie Mellon University, Maine College of Art, University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, and Montana State University. His more than 35 years of professional experience have included communication design work for architecture and design firms as well as design director roles at Wexner Center for the Arts, VIA, Fitch Worldwide and Eyethink. Professor Fernández's award-winning work has been included in many publications including GRAPHIS Posters, Typography 20, GRAPHIS Design Annual 2000, the AIGA Graphic Design Annual 19 and the SEGD Global Design Award 2006. Fernández remains a people advocate and committed to socially responsible design.
Special Thanks to Co-Curator, Estefania Perez-Vera
Co-Organizers, Meaghan Dee, Sarah Stanley, & Scott Fralin
Images:
Paul Brühwiler, Quatre Expressions– Musée des arts décoratifs, 1985
Robert + Durer, Max Bill, 1998
