28.07 Week Two / Session Two

Exploring Poster Design in Wellington

Looking at poster design around town, I noticed that a majority of posters are poorly designed, the ones that work well are the ones that use pathos and FADPs cleverly.

This poster advertising for people to join the police force uses pathos by making the viewer concerned for the child in the image. This is done through scale, with the small child surrounded by darkness and with the playground towering above them. It is also done through colour and light, with the darkness appearing to be almost closing in and the light from the street light appearing sinister and creepy. The dark space all around the subject matter creates tension, like we are waiting for something to appear out of the darkness. 

This poster for the New Zealand Film Festival uses scale well to show that the films are important and magnificent, worthy of the audience attention and awe. Also, the way in which the characters are shining a light onto the audience, not only alludes to a projector, but also to the idea of enlightening the audience. The way the characters are backlit also makes them appear huge and important. 

I don't think this poster is as successful. I think there is too much going on and too many colours, the most effective posters tend to be the simpler ones. The eye has nowhere to rest and this makes it less effective. Also, the way in which the designer had used cut out letters makes it appear criminal, as that is what criminals use to hide their identity, and so it has negative connotations. 

This poster for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra uses pathos well to communicate a sense of peacefulness. It does this through use of negative space, so they eye can rest. It also does this through a limited and soft colour palette and a calming, still looking image. I think also the delicate font and small typeface makes the poster seem more peaceful and delicately beautiful, like an orchestra should be. This helps me to understand how the colour, size and type of font can actually be very useful in contributing to an idea, just as much as graphics.