Modern

The increased speed of the automobile had a significant effect on the design of roadside billboards. Speed limits on highways increased from 35 mph in the mid-1920s to 45 and 55 mph in the 1930s. Messages on billboards needed to be further consolidated in order to reach the swiftly passing consumer. Billboards of the late 19^th century had slowly given way to the pictorial scenes of the early 20^th century that, in turn, gave way to the simplified, abstract messages of the 1930s and 1940s. The modern billboard was flush with bold shapes and colors, flat poster art, symbolism, and over-emphasized product logos, and it took on a sophisticated, contemporary look that promised of an exciting future.

The images below illustrate the "high-art" quality to many of the posters of this era, the incorporation of attention-getting logos, and the sense of high-speed mobility.

Artsy, Modern Billboards: Image courtesy of Catherine Gudis, Buyways: Billboards, Automobiles, and the American Landscape, 2004.