As a group, we all worked on the posters at the same time. The posters would act as the forefront of the campaign we're all the other event collateral would be based around. With this in mind, the poster was crucial in determining how everything else would be produced. By having the whole group working on the posters, we all had the opportunity to create some form of design and to ensure a collaborative environment whilst avoiding a scenario where no one was left out. The collaborative effort also allowed an effective space where many different avenues were explored by all of us. We sat together and researched whilst experimenting and brainstorming ideas. Mike Mignola is mostly well known for his comic book sketches of Hellboy, therefore to increase engagement and 'hype' we felt it'd be best to promote Hellboy as an incentive for people to attend the event. Even if you don't know Mike Mignola the chances are you still would know of Marvel and Hellboy this in itself will attract people to the event.
When approaching the posters from a style perspective we wanted the posters to represent the University as forward thinking and a modern hub within art and design / creative sector. The posters had to represent a contemporary look and feel whilst still holding a high degree of professionalism.
Below is the first experimental piece.
The visual is from Hellboy, with a ring of text on top of the image. All design decisions are all from current design trends to emphasise a contemporary aesthetic and Style. The ring of text is an aspect which can be applied to all other collateral, it's legible, modern, and captures the essence of Creative Networks as an event and a community of professionals who are all learning and embrace each other. The colour scheme is minimal to allowed full focus on the ring of text, creating a distinct and complementary contrast.
The second idea could be considered cliche and obvious but it was an idea with a lot of context and purpose behind the choice of layout and design. The ideal is solely based around Hellboy; Hellboy is from comics, therefore to make the link between Hellboy and Mike Mignola's past, the poster is structurally influenced from the layout of a comic book, and this also adds a strong conceptual feel. It's also an exploration and throw-back to post-digital, a time when Mike Mignola was most famously known. The poster as a whole encompasses a visually attractive viewpoint with the potential to efficiently be replicated on to other collateral. But in terms of contemporary and future application to other speakers, the theme would struggle to be effectively replicated. As a group, we felt it was too obvious of a choice and it didn't set a level of standard we wanted to communicate for Mike and the college.
The last poster was a collaborative effort. Whilst I was experimenting and playing around with ideas, Lo and Rhys were also busy experimenting with their own ideas. We ended up showing each other what we had at that time and from this presentation of ideas, we saw potential in everyone's ideas. We began dissecting a number of elements to combine them together to create one informed poster and what would be a variation of the final poster.
The circle element from my design, the hierarchical layout from Lo's and the rectangle shape from Rhys's poster were all used. The ring of text along with other information within the rectangle promotes a sense of importance and hierarchy, combined with a contemporary and professional Style. The isolation of the rectangle avoids conflict with the visual imagery in the background. By having all information in the box it opens up this experimental and creative approach to understanding how we can create something around the box. It has many creative opportunities whilst also being restrictive. The colour scheme links in with the Hellboy theme making the communication to Mike's work a lot more distinctive stronger.
Application to other collateral.
As a group, we discussed that the rectangles can be used across all collateral to inform a uniformed and consistent standard that injects a strong sense of professionalism and credibility. The rectangle can also be applied and carried across to all future speakers. All that needs to be changed is the colours and visual images within the background. By using different colour schemes for different speakers avoid a campaign that looks the same even though layout will eventually be the same. Lastly, by having a campaign that has a consistent look for all speakers will essentially save time and will create a unique confirmation of what the event is for without reading the information or essentially digesting the poster. Students and even the public will be already familiar with the last promotional material, therefore the visual rhetoric is at work to persuade the user to attend or subconsciously be aware of the event without realising.
