Eye Candy: Summer of Love — Art, Style + Psychedelia

In the summer of 2005, I visited Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era at Tate Liverpool. Hard to believe it was 20 years ago! The exhibition made a lasting impression — bursting with colour, sound, and the radical energy of the late 60s. Looking back now, it feels like a time capsule and a prelude to so much that would later inspire Ops&Ops.

I recently pulled out the book of the exhibition again — now officially vintage — and was struck by how fresh it still feels. This post is a little tribute to that show and the vibrant era it celebrated.

The Look That Still Inspires

The exhibition was a kaleidoscope of posters, fashion and immersive environments – from light shows and album art to bold prints and mirrored furniture. The artists and designers behind it all weren’t just reflecting the era — they were reshaping it.

• Andy Warhol – Pop colour and repetition.
• Yayoi Kusama – Infinity dots and maximalist joy.
• Verner Panton – Sculptural furniture and vibrant interiors.
• Richard Lindner – Figurative surrealism in bold technicolour.
• Hapshash & the Coloured Coat – Psychedelic poster art with wild type and saturated gradients.
• Michael English – Electric ink and fluid lines.

Binder, Edwards & Vaughn for Wolff Olins, 1965

Although I can take no credit for it, I have a personal connection to this fab façade created for Wolff Olins, the early branding agency co-founded by my late father-in-law, Wally Olins. Designed by Binder, Edwards & Vaughn, it’s a vivid example of the immersive commercial graphics they pioneered. The Parkway address also happened to sit around the corner from both my flat and our Ops&Ops studio on Oval Road in Camden.

That full-circle feeling came full-on when Steph and I spotted a better-known BEV design at the O2 last December: her fellow Scouser Paul McCartney performed on the Magic Piano they painted for him — a joyful reminder of how the late-60s visual charge continues to light things up.

Then Meets Now

That spirit — bold, graphic, curious — runs through many of our styles. We’ve never been shy of a statement, and neither were the artists of the Summer of Love.