There’s just three days left to see the Porsche Museum’s Hanns Lohrer Porsche art and graphic design exhibition, which ends on November 4th.

For the last two months, the hub of historic Porsche has been exhibiting the works of Stuttgart painter and commercial graphic designer Hanns Lohrer (1912 – 1995). During the 1950s and ’60s, Lohrer played a pivotal role in the branding and visual appearance of Porsche, by showing not simply what was expected (the cars) but also the style and liftstyle which one might reasonable expect if the decision was made to purchase a Porsche sports car.

Hanns Lohrer Porsche Artist

The motorsport victory posters created by Lohrer at the end of every year to capture Porsche’s sporting successes make up one channel celebrated in this Lohrer Porsche exhibition. The Porsche Museum also shows sales brochure artwork by Lohrer. Visitors can view the red cover page of the 1958 356A catalogue, showing a woman’s hand wearing an elegant glove and handling the gear shift of a Porsche with gentle effortlessness.

Lohrer repeatedly utilised a poodle motif throughout his work for Stuttgart. Away from the prissy show dogs, real poodles are working dogs used in hunting: a pastime which which was close to Ferry Porsche’s heart. Poodles are famed for tough coats and endless stamina, which would no doubt have appealed to Ferry.

One poster shows a refined young lady with a poodle on its lead at the lower right, adding to the relevance of “powerful elegance guided with ease”. Another poster from 1960 uses a standard poodle, proclaiming  “I too, prefer Porsche”. The exhibition pieces are supplemented by 30 original sketches and pictures showing Lohrer’s full range.

Hanns Lohrer led a graphic revolution at Porsche, and continues to inspire modern-day creatives. His Porsche work mixed an engaging brand message with accessible, fine art style. We should not underestimate the huge contribution this iconic imagery brought to Stuttgart’s marketing success: kudos to the Porsche museum for this great exhibition.