A Unique Format
The British quad is a landscape-format poster measuring 30x40 inches — wider than it is tall, unlike the portrait-format American one-sheet. This unusual ratio encouraged artists to think differently about composition.
Hand-Drawn Artwork
Until the mid-1970s, virtually all British quads were hand-illustrated. Studios employed a roster of talented commercial artists who became masters of the form. Their work combined painterly skill with graphic design sensibility in a way that modern photo-montage posters rarely achieve.