In the time of the hippie movement, ¨flower power¨ and wholesale use of hallucinogenic drugs, self-taught designers and others adorned their everyday objects (cars, homes, boutiques, clothing, furniture, posters, record covers and jewelry in a style inspired by the quasi-surrealistic experiences of drug consumption, particularly LSD. Such designers reveled in a kaleidoscopic palate of swirling, gaudy colors and shapes with superimposed images, contrasting colors and unfocused images to create a radical visual style.
Psychedelia originally emanated from the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco, California and drew from influences ranging from Indian art to Art Nouveau; the illustrated ¨underground¨ magazine Oz launched in London in 1967 contained such emblematic images. Psychedelia ironically became a highly profitable ¨look¨ appropriated by mainstream designers despite its roots in an ¨alternative¨ subculture.