You Had Me At Shalom

Upon first spotting this poster two years ago in the halls of a University of Delaware dorm, I immediately ripped it down and ran away. The poster was so successful that I had to have it immediately. It first caught my eye because a single picture was framed by a solid black background. I think this was smart because it forces the viewer to focus on the picture, and then the eyes read the text “You had me at Shalom”.

This poster is promoting the organization Birthright, which sponsors free trips to Israel for Jewish young adults, between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. Immediately, a target audience is established, since only those of age and religion can participate. The photograph conveys motion and passion, which intrigues the viewer and invites them to read the rest of the poster. The wooden clothespin and white border make the photograph appear more personal and homemade. The hot pink lips also demand attention against the subdued colors of the rest of the photo. The font is a script, cleverly chosen so it looks like a handwritten note from one member of the couple to another. It also plays on the famous line from Jerry Maguire, so bonus points for humor and originality. Below this is the website address. By leaving minimal information, it invites the viewer to simply enjoy the poster for its design aesthetic, and intrigues them enough to log onto the website and learn more about the program.

Lauren Betzwieser’s Resume

Lauren Betzwieser’s Resume

Fashion Shouldn’t Kill

If I saw this poster hanging on the wall, I would definitely stop.  The header, visual, and white space all work well together to make an extremely powerful poster.  I like the red gestalt created with the red text and the “blood” in the image.  The font of the word “Victims” also goes well with the visual, especially the tail of the raccoon.  The white space allows the viewer really focus on the message of the poster- fashion shouldn’t kill.  Instead of cluttering up space with details, a website is provided if the viewer wants more information.  The logos are placed at the exit point where the viewer will note them before moving on.

Lindsey Colegrove’s Resume

Megan Griffo’s Resume

Aileen Coughlin’s resume

Robert Bloomberg’s Resume

World Cup 2010

I think that this World Cup poster is one of the more successful posters I’ve seen. It is very successful in many ways. First, the colors of the poster work perfectly with the location of the competition, which is South Africa. South Africa has many national colors, but the poster chose to use its yellow, which is the most vibrant color in the flag besides red. I like the choice of yellow because while red is more vibrant, it would have been too loud for the poster, while the yellow makes the poster pop out against other posters, but still allows the graphic to be the focus of the poster. Second, I really enjoy the graphic. The World Cup was called Africa’s cup, since it was the first one to ever take place in Africa. The use of the face that is shaped as Africa is great, it is very creative and also leads us to the soccer ball, which lets us know what sport is being promoted. Third, I like the typeface that was used to tell us the information on the poster. Its easy to read, but also has an African feel to it. Overall, I think this was a great poster.

Meghin Delaney Resume

Simply Going Green

In going about finding a poster, I decided to simply type in “event and promotional posters” to Google Images.  I then scrolled through and picked the one that stuck out the most to me– this indicated a success on the poster’s graphic designer’s part.

I settled on this image– a poster made my graphics students at Carnegie Mellon.  This poster appealed to me because its simple image, made entirely of basic shapes and only three colors, told me immediately what the poster was about.  The designer used an easily recognizable image (a bicycle) and creatively morphed it.  They then incorporated the environmental aspect by replacing the bike’s wheels with Earth images.  This poster is an excellent example of what Professor Taylor wants us to do for our own poster projects– it uses a large, powerful image, that is accompanied by and compliments a headline.  This poster also utilizes the “Z” viewing pattern that Professor Taylor described, beginning with it’s headline, zig-zagging through the image and ending with the small text in the bottom right corner.  Moreover, the design has rounded, san serif text that mirrors the rounded person on the bike.

I would not change much about this poster because for me, it accomplishes its goal.  It is simple, to the point, sticks to basics and utilizes text, shapes and white space effectively.