A History Lesson: Keep Calm and Carry On

A few months ago, I blogged about one of my customers' favorite new designs. Keep Calm and Carry On has not only been extremely popular on its own, but has spawned so many different versions for every possible occasion: in addition to the ones I already mentioned, I've had requests for Keep Calm and Kill Zombies, Keep Calm and Argh Matey,  and Keep Calm and Carry On My Wayward Sons as well as designs for sororities, fraternities and different teams. I really like this concept and have had a lot of fun coming up with different designs both for customers and to entertain myself.

 

It's funny what a life this simple phrase has taken on in pop culture, especially considering its origins. The design was originally commissioned just before World War II by King George to reassure the British people and was recently rediscovered in a British bookstore. My knowledge of the design's history pretty much ended there until I stumbled upon this charming video today.



It's interesting to think that this simple message was meant to calm citizens in a situation where remaining calm would be the last possible imaginable reaction. I have to admit, of all the funny and clever designs I've seen so far, the original remains my favorite.

P.S. A visit to Barter Books was just added to the Bucket List. It looks amazing!

Visit my public Facebook album for more ideas using "Keep Calm and..."