Rosie The Riveter - Urge for Women to Move Forward

“Rosie the Riveter” propaganda poster was produced by J. Howard Miller in 1943. It is an American World War II wartime for Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company for inspirational images to boost female workers morale. The appearance of this poster design is bold and strong as an image that is easily relatable to factory workers, both genders. Moreover, the bright and bold colours are used to draw the eye’s attention and trigger the viewers. Also, the darkness of the blue places weight on the poster’s border gives a strong sense of encouragement and power. Miller has also illustrated in varieties of techniques, such as adding a warm yellow color, which makes the poster easier to identify from a distance such across a factory floor. All together, these colours creates a calm atmosphere along with a striking feeling. As well as to allow women to work in manufactory companies and more varieties of choices.

Conceptual Practice

Howard Miller grew up during the World War II, which he was inspired by the works of a famous illustrator and painter, Norman Rockwell. Rockwell created a painting for the Saturday Evening Post which portrayed a woman working in a factory. Through this inspiration, Miller used his talents and passion to design posters, as well as other artworks to emphasise the lives of the women behind the war effort. As a result, he created the poster “Rosie the Riveter” Miller designed this poster as a cultural icon of World War II, symbolizing the females who worked in factories back then. Those women were heavily influenced by the media and were confused of their role in the society. Throughout the twentieth century, the poster evolved as most women continued to achieve for freedom. This had a huge impact on the generations and events through time, as nowadays many women took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers and the ones who joined the military.

Structural Frame

In this poster, the main point of this image is the woman flexing her arm. It shows that she is wearing a blue shirt with a red bandanna, which separate her from the yellow background. The viewer’s eyes are first drawn to the woman’s face, following to her powerful arm, then to the caption. In the image, the woman has a strength and power expression showing the toughness and stability. Moreover, the yellow background has a gradient from the bottom to the centre, to show the woman’s face clearly and so the audience can identify them. Through the artist’s use of color and techniques, Miller was able to effectively illustrate the idea of America as the home of the free and equal country by addressing to the audience that women are just as necessary to the war effort during this time. The two elements of this design work strongly together instead if shown individually. 

Conclusion 

The image became significantly valuable to many feminist groups as it emphasises a strong, independent woman, and they have the capability of their own freedom. Moreover, this is very inspirational as it has a great imagery of confidence and strength through time periods as a uniting force for women. This reminds a woman to have all the rights and how important it is to keep moving forward.