Look to the stars for some budget-friendly wall decor inspiration.
If our Ultimate Collection of 42 Free Art Prints didn’t contain something to suit your fancy and cover your bare walls with visually-arresting art, have a look at these nineteen totally dope, totally free and ready-to-download posters from the visual strategists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL).
According to the JPL’s website, the creative direction behind the retro-futuristic poster series, titled “Visions of the Future,” began as a way to celebrate NASA’s exploration of exoplanets, but later:
“[T]he director of JPL was on vacation at the Grand Canyon with his wife, and they saw a similarly styled poster that reminded them of the exoplanet posters. They suggested it might be wonderful to give a similar treatment to the amazing destinations in our solar system that JPL is currently exploring as part of NASA.
“The point was to share a sense of things on the edge of possibility that are closely tied to the work our people are doing today. The JPL director has called our people ‘architects of the future.’”
You can read more about the creative vision behind each poster (and download all of them) at NASA’s JPL website under the “Gallery” section, or simply follow this link: Visions of the Future.
What about printing and framing your poster?
In the Ultimate Collection of 42 Free Art Prints article shared above, we included our favorite tips for affordable printing and stylish framing, so it bears repeating here!
Our best money-saving tip for printing is to use Costco Photo Center, FedEx Office, or Staples Printing & Marketing Services. Note that some printing options are only available in-store, or are not available at every Costco, FedEx or Staples location, so if you can’t order online, call your local store and ask for their printing options and advice.
According to the JPL website, every image from the “Visions of the Future” collection should be printed at 20”x30”, so specify the correct sizing to your printer service.
While our favorite IKEA poster frames (all under $30) are either slightly smaller than 20”x30” or slightly larger, you should be able to get them to work either by cropping edges or printing slightly smaller with whatever printing option you go with. Alternatively, one well-reviewed, budget-friendly option is this frame from Walmart, though if you don’t mind a bit of treasure hunting, we recommend scouring your local second-hand shops and flea markets, where you’re bound to find a suitably-sized frame for a bargain.
Which poster(s) are you planning to download and frame? Take a photo of your new art and tag us on Instagram @primermagazine when your posters are up!