Apathy is Boring Poster Campaign (Student Project)

 

For one of our design assignments, we were asked to select a social cause to design a poster for that would engage the target market we identified. I decided to chose an organization called Apathy is Boring (apathyisboring.com) which uses art and technology to educate Canadian youth regarding democracy. I decided to target millennials (18-30 years old) and moved onto the brainstorming and thumbnailing process. 

From this, I created 30 different thumbnail concepts (to a varying level of success…) :

 

The top three concepts that emerged from this were:

 

 

1. The Label Series: Various grad photos, as well as an option with a grad photo composite, where labels have been stuck on top of the grad’s faces with common misperceptions of millennials. At the bottom, it would have a call to action to prove these labels wrong, and direct viewers to the Apathy is Boring website. 

2. QR Code Vote Registration spot: Millennials often blame being too busy for one of the reasons for not getting registered to vote for elections. This campaign idea would bring the registration to them- at a bus stop, on the streets, on the sea bus, etc. By scanning the QR code on the poster, the viewer would be taken to a site where they would be able to register in a convenient way. 

3. Pull-Tab Poster: This poster concept focused around the idea of millennials taking what they need. This was interpreted literally, with double-sided pull tabs created attached to a poster (one side with something we need, the other with specific information and call-to-action. This concept was the one I settled on as the final version. 

 

The Final Poster

 

For this poster, I created the pull-tabs (as mentioned above) but also added in a message that would only be viewed once all of the tabs have been removed. 

Prometheus In-Class Poster Design

For our assignment, we were asked to select a thriller/horror movie that we would like to design a poster for, within the time constraints of 5 hours. I took 3 of those hours to create an alternative, illustrated poster for Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. 

I decided to narrow in on the character of David 8 (played by Michael Fassbender) because of his duality and complexity throughout the film. As with the real-world poster series, I chose to keep type minimal and, instead, drive attention of the audience to the movie through the mysterious, android face of David. I believe that, hardwired as we are, faces are an extremely successful mechanism through which to  capture attention. In addition, I employed an eery colour space (inspired by the movie itself) to further the tone of the illustration and film. 

Yay, Michael Fassbender!

Standing Apart: Poster Design for Urban Landscapes

This week’s foray into design is focused on the means by which posters do (or do not) separate themselves from a visually cluttered landscape. Many designers, myself included, lose sight of the context that their work will be seen in (a messy, half-covered city lamppost, for example) and fail to incorporate ways of attracting attention that are specifically effective for that environment. Below, I will discuss some examples (in-situ) that I have photographed at various times.

 

1. Vancouver Intersections (various artists)

This poster series focused on various well-known Vancouver intersections, where a mixture of designers interpreted each cross street in a fitting manner. The final posters are found in Skytrain stations in Vancouver, where they have been elevated to an almost gallery level. Their large size and simple, beautiful designs  are effective at capturing the interest of the broad audience that inevitably is exposed to them in a mass transit area.  Because of the location and, I imagine, a partnership with TransLink, there is no poster clutter competing for attention. The challenges specific to them are injecting a quick dose of levity, pride and happiness to people that are rushing, possibly stressed, and navigating the crowds. Their reliance on strong typographic elements and high contrast colours makes them instantly visually appealing.

 

2. Tasting Table’s Lobster Roll Rumble

I took this picture while I was in NY this summer, because I inevitably couldn’t stop staring at it wherever I walked to. It was at least 30″ high, and instantly overcame all visual clutter that it was near due to its simple and bold imagery. In a city where you are over-inundated with ads on a constant basis, the decision to pare the poster down to its most simple visual elements results in a poster that you want to stop and look at. While this event is most likely catering to a narrow audience, the poster is highly accessible in its fun design approach (with almost child-like illustrations and hand-lettering) that broadens the appeal. In the scenario here, where people will be both walking immediately by it and seeing it from across the street, the big, bold colours and type are key to success. 

 

3. Creativity is My Weapon (Artist Self-Promotion Poster)

I found these posters patterned and plastered on building facades, and was immediately drawn to them for their simple yet powerful message. While bright, eye-catching illustrations can make a poster, the distinct absence of colour and image can be equally rewarding. This stripped down aesthetic paired with a provoking statement draws a passer-by’s attention easily, as it functions almost as a visual resting point from the busyness surrounding it. The size of the poster (tabloid) was not very large, and yet it was simultaneously impactful at a close distance as well as from farther out. 

 

4. Arts Club Theatre’s Avenue Q

Always a good source for simple, visually appealing design collateral, Arts Club did not disappoint with the advertising material for Avenue Q earlier this summer. The audience for these posters is likely existing theatre-goers as well as adults who simply enjoy comedy. Relying on comedic copy, simply laid out in a clean sans-serif is a brilliant design choice that is extremely fitting for the show it is trying to advertise. Because Vancouver isn’t necessarily a thriving musical hotspot, the decision to omit the title of the musical, instead focusing on the easily recognizable graphic of the warning label, was effective in broadening the appeal to a more general audience. The posters were situated by Granville Island Market, an area bursting over with visual activity and no shortage of things to pull your attention. Relying on the two most attention-grabbing colours (red and yellow), and pairing them with high-constrast companions, was an extremely effective means of initially captivating people walking past. 

5. Vitacoco Coconut Water (Transit Shelter Ad)

Vitacoco has found a simple yet elegant way of attracting their hip, down-to-earth, health-conscious (and presumably female) target audience with this poster series. From the limited, nature-inspired colour pallet to the trendy-but-still-original execution of hand lettering and narrow sans-serifs, the design team has specifically tailored the aesthetic to best reach this narrow group. The simplicity and balanced nature of the poster, however, does not alienate those outside of this very targeted group, nor is it condescending in its treatment of the target. My favourite aspect of this poster is how, at a distance, it is quirky and intriguing, and yet when you’re close to it, the complexity in the water-colour appearance of the text maintains your interest. Because of this, it is equally as effective in communicating with those using the transit shelter as with drivers going by. 

 

Poster Analysis

For this assignment, we were asked to select a series of posters that we think are successful at overcoming the unique challenges inherent in poster designing (as well as taking advantage of the unique opportunities). I picked a selection of posters that are both functional and eye-catching, and will highlight their specific triumphs below.

1. The Design School Advertisement: Portland State University’s Graphic Design Student Show (poster series)

This poster concept is highly innovative, mainly for its extreme versatility and outside-the-box thinking. The poster itself is fairly simple, with interesting type hierarchy that immediately catches our attention. The large header letters are very captivating, made even more interactive by the fact that their fill is changed depending on their context. Not only can these die-cut posters be attached to interesting surfaces in order to vary appearance, but there is also the possibility for a meta-poster, with a photograph being taken with someone holding the poster up against a surface (as in the photos above). Both solutions are visually unexpected, and evoke a light-hearted, quirky tone that catches our attention with its uniqueness befitting of the design school.

2. The Cultural Advertisement: Guimaraes Jazz ’09 al Centro Cultural Vila Flor 

In the sea of colour and impersonal digital typefaces that exists on every street pole covered in posters, this piece of cultural advertisement is a treat to the eye. It stands out specifically to the musically inclined, with its organic movement of type and illustration creating a flow mirroring the jazz medium itself. This fluid, hand-created typography, as well as the way in which it has been almost converted into the musicians instrument, is completely unexpected and entirely engaging. While the copy isn’t minimal, its complexity and human irregularity and personality adds to the desire of wanting to read the text as it flows across the photography. Again, despite all of this potential business, type hierarchy is clearly maintained (the title of the event and the date are by far the most prominent pieces of information). Because of this original approach, I would argue that it was very successful.

3. The Gig Poster: Explosions in the Sky (D.KNG)

This poster’s success is due almost entirely to unexpected juxtaposition of content in a beautifully rendered way. Show posters, having a short life span, do not necessarily need to do more than echo the sentiments of the band in a visually engaging way. This particular solution, with its eery colour scheme and tone, is definitely sensitive to the music of the band it is representing. This sensitivity makes it very successful in appealing to niche fans of alternative and post-rock music, who are already primed to this aesthetic. I especially love how the minimal size and content of the copy draws our attention first and foremost to the double-nature of the illustration, while the type is secondary. Its beauty would most likely entice fans to want to take it off a wall and put it up in their own room!

4. The NGO Poster: Amnesty International, 1995 (Israel)

This poster was created for the Israeli branch by graphic designer Lemel Yossi, and is very impactful in its simplicity. Its success hinges on three main factors: negative space, colour and typeface. The negative space illustration is clean and easy to grasp, but has a strong emotive message attached to it: you can offer a helping hand, and there will always be many in need of it. The colour contrast employed by Yossi is very stark and visually stimulating, mirroring the powerful and charged message that Amnesty International is aiming to communicate without words. Finally, the bold, all-caps sans-serif chosen, and the juxtaposition of it against the thin sans-serif of “International”, heightens the presence of the organization in a pronounced way. By shifting typographic hierarchy towards the word “Amnesty”, the first impression of the poster is more focused on what the organization stands for, rather than about it in itself.

5. The Job Fair Poster :Liberty University Camp Fair 2012

This poster is successful because of how immediately charming and tactile it appears to the viewer. The designer has taken something that most students take very seriously (the looming, anxiety-ridden prospect of career searching) into something fun and engaging. I love the brave and unexpected take on a poster, and how the designer challenged himself to create something tangible in the physical world, and convert it to the digital medium through photography. The act of having this miniature, paper world paired with digital typography creates a surprising amount of depth and visual impact. Type hierarchy has been established with very clear, modern, minimalist typefaces, all of which lends itself to making this terrifying activity more approachable and easily communicated to its target audience (presumably unemployed students).