Posters have been a part of UNSW Archives' holdings since its establishment in 1980. The posters available in the Archives reflect the changing nature of the university from the 1950s to present and cover everything from drama and musical performances to student events and political activism.聽
The posters on display here represent only a small selection of the wider Archives' collection. They do, however, provide an interesting illustration of the changing nature of posters over time. In the 1950s and 1960s posters were almost always originally created by hand, which required considerable artistic talent. As the popularity of computers has increased, so has the level of sophistication of the posters. It is no longer as necessary to have strong drawing capabilities, but creativity in ideas is still essential. After all, while the purpose of a poster may be to inform, it will not succeed without the benefit of an eye-catching motif - and it is here that the creators of university posters have always been successful.