Triumphs In Technology: The Pennsy T1
- TRIUMPHS IN TECHNOLOGY
The Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Steam Engine - Steam engines: they are loud, messy, and for most children, get the heart racing. I was one of those children. This poster features one of the most influential steam engines of all time, the Pennsylvania T1, designed by the famous, Raymond Loewy. The poster featured below is based on a piece I designed and illustrated as part of a graphic design history course while attending the Art Institute. For the project students were to choose a designer of the art deco period and emulate the designers style in an original work. My chosen designer, and long time design inspiration, was Adolphe Cassandre.Both the original and final poster designs follow Cassandre's use of gradients and a abstract detailing. The layout for these pieces are based on Cassandre's famed Normandi poster. The type, "Triumphs in Technology" was hand shaded using opacity masks in Illustrator. A majority of the color gradients on the locomotive itself were applied via color mesh tool. On the bottom two corners of the image, the rails of the track break out of the frame of the design, breaking up the white border that wraps around the rest of the piece and thus serving the purpose of pulling the viewer back into the piece.
ABOVE: Final poster design (and illustration). Note the clean up in the execution of existing elements as well as the addition of type and background objects.BELOW: The early version of the piece.
- The Pennsylvania Railroad ("PRR") T1 Steam EngineThe PRR T1 was a rare, duplex drive steam engine. It was, quite literally, two steam engines built into the body of one. This allowed the engine to maintain speeds as much as 135mph while pulling up to 16 loaded passenger cars along it's route. This was the last passenger engine produced by PRR, and it was design is credited to industrial designer Raymond Loewy.Below are a couple of the images I used as references for the piece.
The T1 received many modifications over it's relatively short service history. This engine has been photographed after having it's streamlined skirting removed from around the wheels and drive shafts.
A fully streamlined model of the T1 running a passenger train.
Illustration Pieces - Early 2012Digital Art, Illustration, Print Design
Reviving the Hornet CampaignBranding, Graphic Design, Photojournalism
World War I Recruitment PieceDigital Art, Illustration
Logos, Marks, and IconsBranding, Graphic Design, Typography
GreenSpot Identity SystemBranding, Graphic Design
Discuss This Project: ( Comments)