POSTERS AND THE FAIR GREW TOGETHER

The first posters in Croatia appeared in connection with fairs of the Zagreb Trade Exhibition.

The dominant media for the promotion of the first fairs was the poster, which was used in domestic and foreign advertising.

Around thirty posters have been saved from 1910 - 1940, and they are located in the Graphics Department of HAZU, the Arts and Crafts Museum, the Zagreb City Museum, the National University Library and at Zagreb Fair.

The authors of the posters, which portrayed the development of design and fair organization in a representative manner, initially were renowned painters, and in the Thirties a generation of graphic designers emerged who also left their mark through their theoretical opus intended for the development of the advertising industry.

In 1928 a group of graphic designers, who created the best posters for the Trade Exhibition, was formed.

The development and "coming of age" of the Zagreb Trade Exhibition can be easily seen through the form of its posters.

The growth of the Exhibition from a mainly fair-style exhibition for the general public into a serious business event of special international character and with all the features of general and specialized fair organization is visible through the history of its posters.

Successful cooperation on posters with influential painters and graphic designers continued later, under new conditions and under the patronage of Zagreb Fair.

The logo of Zagreb Fair, which has been recognizable for more than 40 years, was first displayed on a poster for the Autumn Fair in 1953 by Ivo Režek.

After 1950 a number of well-known painters and graphic designers created posters for Zagreb Fair: Ljubo Babić, Ivo Režek, Osman Berberović, Žarko Beker, Milan Vulpe, Boris Ljubičić and others. Boris Ljubičić is also the creator of the modern-day logo and visual identity of Zagreb Fair, which has been in use since 1993.