Family Circle 1955 Inspirational Images

In a world where design trends come and go like the tide, sometimes it's the treasures of yesteryear that ignite the brightest sparks of creativity.

At RetroSupply Co., we’re all about that vintage vibe—reviving the mid-century magic with our digital tools and resources. This week, we're diving deep into a gem from our "From the Archives" series over at the RetroSupply Secret Society.

We've got a visual feast for you, straight from a 1955 issue of Family Circle, handpicked by our talented illustrator Robin Banks. This curated collection doesn’t just celebrate the 1950s aesthetic but also offers a peek into the advertising and storytelling flair of that golden era.

So, grab a comfy seat, and let these nostalgic nuggets fuel your next creative project!

FAMILY CIRCLE Cover (1955)

A little worse for wear, but chock full of goodies and a hint at what's inside on the top right corner. Raise your hand if you're jealous of the idea of a three-bedroom home for "UNDER $10,000"?

MOTHER DOES THE SHOPPING

Family Circle, as the name suggests, was geared toward families, but primarily mothers who would be the primary shoppers of the household. As such you'll see advertisements centered around making meals and cleaning house.

Colorful and cartoon-y ads were paired up alongside those which were more refined and adult.

Dream VaCATION

Among the advertisements readers could find articles appealing to the average family looking to improve their life and achieve the American Dream. Inspirational stories about dream vacations where everyone gets along were common occurrences.

TALES OF ROMANCE

It seems the editors of Family Circle wanted to be a one-stop-shop for their readers and so nestled among the family friendly content were tales to titillate.

TASTY textures!

As we mentioned before, many of the advertisements in Family Circle revolved around food. Illustrations needed to be fun, enticing, and to accurately convey what the product looked like. The shading in this Sea Trader chunk tuna advert next to the cartoon parrot makes it seem like you could pluck it straight from the page!

GROWING UP

Not all of the stories and articles were geared toward adults. Some of them were centered around a family's children as they grew and learned to navigate the world. Like this article about figuring out if your beau is right for you.

You can achieve this same type of look in your artwork using our Mid-Century Brush Collections and Paper Boy vintage paper textures.

Halftone Magic

Halftones were a heavily used shading technique during the Mid-Century for both realistic and cartoon-y illustrations. You can see several examples within the pages of this copy of Family Circle.

We developed DupliTone to recreate this technique without having to spend hours hand cutting expensive screens!

Pops of color

Finishing up we wanted to highlight another common illustration technique of the Mid-Century which was using spots of color in otherwise grey-scale images to provide excitement to the image while saving tons on expensive full-color printing.

Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane with Family Circle 1955! These classic visuals are a testament to the enduring power of design in shaping our memories and experiences.

Whether you’re looking to channel mid-century charm into your work or just love the beauty of vintage design, RetroSupply Co. has your back.

Check out our Mid-Century Brush Collections and Paper Boy vintage paper textures to infuse some retro magic into your modern masterpieces. Keep an eye out for more archival inspirations and keep creating with that analog magic. Thanks for joining us on this journey—happy designing!