Keep calm and read on June 14 2011 We’ve all seen it. It’s on
posters, T-shirts, pillows, notebooks, buttons and iPhone cases.
As a designer I am visually assaulted and overwhelmed by the
enormous amount of adaptations the “Keep Calm and Carry On”
print has seen. However, upon searching deeper into the mystery
of this culturally iconic print, there's a history filled with
war, panic, and invasion. First published and produced by the
Ministry of Information in 1939 by an unknown civil servant at
the beginning of WWII, “Keep Calm and Carry On” was intended to
help raise the morale of British citizens in case Britian was
invaded by Germany. A straightforward and direct typographic
message was chosen accompanied by an illustration of the King’s
crown. The King’s crown was included to ensure the public would
identify that this was a message from the King to his people.
Although “Keep Calm” is now widely known, the poster originated
with a series of two other prints which were more prevalent
during war time. The tw