Talking in Pictures. Illustrating Through Visual Trends. A Letter From Paula Scher.

Singapore, 28 September 2011: Getty Images has today announced its most recent project within 27Letters, “A Letter from Paula Scher,” featuring renowned graphic designer, Paula Scher. Taking a deeper dive into everyday insights by profiling thought leaders within the visual space, Paula Scher is the first of several executives to share insight on camera, related to visual understanding, communication and ideas.

Getty Images’ 27Letters is a dedicated website for creatives that showcases the visual trends that are currently setting the global visual conversation. Collated alphabetically and updated every few days, 27Letters was first launched in 2010. The initiative features insights into the most used, referenced and talked-about visual trends in the media space, from over 250 influential media sites and opinion-forming blogs, providing “bite-sized” reports on the latest visual content. 

“We created 27Letters to identify the latest visual ideas and trends that will shape the imagery of tomorrow and present them in a way that’s easy to consume,” explained Andrew Saunders, Senior Vice President of Creative at Getty Images. “Our customers are constantly seeking the latest trends and unique content to share with their clients and audiences, and 27Letters gives them the tools to stay on top of the rapidly-changing media landscape.”

In addition to showcasing global visual trends in the form of easily-digestible reports, 27Letters presents creatives with the innovative trends that truly matter. Snapshots of a few of the trends to be featured within the new 27Letters collection include:

P is for Preppy: It’s hard to imagine at this moment in time, but next year we will be swimming in Preppy. Baz Luhrmann’s version of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and a voiceover by Tobey Maguire, will launch 1920s fashions. An early twist on this is Masaya Kuroki’s Spring 2012 collection for French label Maison Kitsune. Better dig out that boater and blazer.

U is for Ultra-Man: Masculinity in advertising gets evermore magnified in Old Spice’s face-off between Isaiah Mustafa and Fabio. These cartoon versions of maleness, trading mock-insults, has reeled in viewing numbers via Twitter questions from users. There’s a lot of mock-heroic “hyper-masculinity” around in ads at the moment. It gives licence to a certain amount of vanity. Expect more exploration of imagery around masculinity.

W is for Wonder: As the Atlantis completed its final mission, the Big Picture ran this visual homage to the last space flight. This image of the International Space Station and Atlantis (the Russian Soyuz is docked on the left) with the earth in the background, captures the sense of technological endeavour and the scale of human achievement. Space imagery will still tug emotional strings around wonder.

“The visual trends that we see all around us are highly impactful,” said Andrew Delaney. “We try to look at everything as if we are seeing it for the first time, regardless of whether it is something that we see every day. Through 27Letters, we feature real insights on the most used, referenced and talked about visuals in the media space – actively listening, watching and reacting to mainstream media sites and blogs covering a variety of categories.”

Content featured on 27Letters is regularly refreshed, providing insightful analysis of the latest visual ideas from advertising, architecture, art, design, fashion, film and photography. The latest 27Letters collection can be viewed online here: www.gettyimages.com/27Letters