Convair 880 – The World's Fastest Jetliner | General Dynamics

Original poster by the Swiss artist Erik Nitsche (1908–1998), who emigrated to the U.S. in 1934 and, in the second half of the 1950s, as art director of the technology conglomerate General Dynamics, shaped the development of a modern industrial graphic design style—one brimming with faith in the future and optimism—like no other —thanks to his immense technical understanding, a high capacity for abstraction, and, naturally, a strong affinity for the cool and precise Swiss Style, which began to gain relevance beyond Switzerland starting in the 1950s.

Nitsche, who had been educated at the Collège Classique in his hometown of Lausanne as well as at the schools of applied arts in Munich and Paris, was hired by General Dynamics in 1954—a move that proved challenging in two respects: First, the company—founded only in 1952—was still virtually unknown to the public, in stark contrast to its older competitors such as General Electric and Westinghouse. Second, General Dynamics was also active in the nuclear power sector, which posed some problems for the company; after all, just a few years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was not exactly easy to conduct research into nuclear energy without arousing suspicion that it was working on weapons of mass destruction.

Nitsche addressed these challenges through three series of posters that, on the occasion of the first two Geneva Atomic Conferences in 1955 and 1958, highlighted the civilian benefits of nuclear energy as well as research itself. The third series followed in 1959 and was dedicated to the group’s individual divisions—including Convair, whose Model 880 helped usher in the jet age. These approximately thirty posters are still considered the epitome of modern industrial design and have secured Eric Nitsche an indelible place in the history of poster art.

Several other General Dynamics posters by Erik Nitsche are also available.

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