From watching the Stranger Things video using I learned about how they used typography from 80’s albums and books to make Stranger Things feel authentic, by using mistakes from early technology equipment they were able to make the letters come alive and have an authentic feel. The use of negative space is very powerful. Running down the street with a blue background represents the thriller genre, the use of body parts can let you know what type of content you’re consuming and also help show what is going on, yellow is a quick way to catch the eye so it is typically used for cheap indie movies, and finally I learned that black and white to represent masculinity with orange flash for actions movies to have intense look. Below I linked an example of the three types explained.
White background: Controversial opinion: I’ve always hated red and white. I understand from a marketing perspective why you would want a poster that immediately grabs people’s eyes, but there are so many other ways to do it that would be visually appealing for me personally. I also don’t really care for raunchy humor, which may explain my distaste for this style of poster.
Groan Ups, 2019
White (in general): I find these to be cleaner and classier than their red cousin, which I appreciate. It also stands out in a similar way which is good for marketing. I thought it was interesting that he said it portrays what to expect from the movie. I can appreciate honest advertising.
Forrest Gump, 1994
Blue: I enjoy a sleek blue that provides a mysterious vibe to the movie poster. They are often used in action/thriller posters and have the (main) character running in the middle. To me, this poster specifically was a great example of this color scheme and I really liked how it looked. And, he says it, “has its roots in film noir”, very cool!
Paycheck, 2003
Film noir: Definitely my favorite so far. I love old time-y movie posters. It reminds me of Archie comics.
This Gun For Hire, 1942
Yellow: Apparently this is used to represent low-budget indie movies, which I wouldn’t have been able to guess, but it does make sense. I like yellow so I definitely appreciate this one,
Capitalism, A Love Story, 2009
XeroxQuality: I know I said film noir was my favorite, but this definitely takes the cake. I imagine that maybe one is based off of the other? I love these kinds of posters. This is the kind of movie poster I would put up on my wall. I know technology is all about getting better, more impressive, and more modern, but you just can’t beat perfection.
Wake in Fright, 1971
Black, white, & orange: I don’t know if it’s me and my lack of interest in action movies, but I don’t care for this at all. I find it to be too severe and has too much going on. Can’t say I like it, unfortunately.
Transporter 3, 2007
Blue and Orange: I knew I loved it as soon as I saw it, but them, when he said that the orange is used to “lead the eye to the key focus of the narrative”? Too good. I loved Star Wars: A New Hope as a kid, if it could be made even better. No notes.
When I watched Stranger Things, I didn’t really watch the title sequence because it creeped me out too much. I liked seeing the other typographics they looked at before choosing theirs. ITC Bengat is very recognizable so I thought it was a great choice. Using the kodaliths to look even more 80’s was very impressive to me. It’s cool to recognize the work that goes into something that I wouldn’t even notice, like a title sequence.
A lesson in hyperlinks indeed! As someone who participates in Wikipedia deep dives, I really enjoyed reading “A Kid’s Guide to Graphic Design by Iconic Designer Chip Kidd.” Not paying any attention to my own design here and just slapping the hyperlink as the name of the article, but that is what it is!
While I make no great claims about my design abilities, I do like to think about design more than the average bear. Working in the theatre means I’m constantly considering how to reach the middle point between what I need and what the audience will see as “good” or “polished.” Not only that, but everything that is on stage needs to be put there with both the considerations of the play and of the audience, which can lead to interesting challenges. I appreciated the article discussing graphic design as “problem solving,” as I feel the same about theatrical design.
The article about movie posters accompanied by the video of the creation of the Stranger Things logo made me think about book covers, which is something I spend more time looking at. Like movie posters, book covers are subject to trends- we’ve seen an increase in drawn/illustrated covers recently. This is not something that I connect with, and personally hope goes away soon. I don’t feel like I’ve felt that uncomfortable or alienated by other designs before. I suppose they must be popular or else cover designers wouldn’t keep making them and authors wouldn’t request them, but irrationally I wish they would just change this retroactivley.
The article about movie posters accompanied by the video of the creation of the Stranger Things logo made me think about book covers, which is something I spend more time looking at. Like movie posters, book covers are subject to trends- we’ve seen an increase in drawn/illustrated covers recently. This is not something that I connect with, and personally hope goes away soon. I don’t feel like I’ve felt that uncomfortable or alienated by other designs before. I suppose they must be popular or else cover designers wouldn’t keep making them and authors wouldn’t request them, but irrationally I wish they would just change this retroactivley.
While I can’t say that I didn’t learn anything from the readings and videos, its hard to identify one particular fact. I feel like a lot of the reading affirmed things that I subconciously already knew. However, I think putting language to these subconsious feelings is important as it allows us, as designers, to target them.
What is art? Don’t worry I will give you a second to think about it. No matter your response there isn’t a correct answer to what art is. But there is plenty principles of design from color, shapes, proportion, etc so lets take a closer look at ways we can make our creations better.
Graphic Design
You might look at a poster and think Wow! That movie looks interesting or see a book cover and instantly wanna see what it’s about. Well it catches your attention for a reason and that’s all due to the amount of thought put into the design. One of the most famous graphic designers, Chip Kidd, was able to break down the basics of design for literal children in his book called Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design. Inside he explains concepts in simple ways that are easily understandable for children and adults. But what stood out to me the most was his explanation on how everything that is not made by nature is designed by someone else. So if you stop and take a look around yourself right now, literally everything started out as an idea that someone put time and effort into while creating it. Amazing right! So much more goes into designs than people know. Think about it this way. Colors that contrast or blend well can look appealing to the eyes. Jagged shapes can put people on edge compared to round shapes that have more of a soothing effect. Even proportions like making something smaller can make it look cuter. Well lets dive even deeper into how design can portray an aesthetic and even provoke feeling from the viewer.
Movie posters are a great example of how design principles are used. In the video above James Verdesto explains very well how design is used in marketing to communicate a message. A lot of movie posters tend to follow a trend of using the same elements in their designs like specific color schemes depending on genre. Perfect examples are how the color yellow is used to catch the eye and how black and white tends to to be used for action movies to portray the masculinity of the protagonist while adding a pop of color usually with the color red to draw attention with the intensity. Here is another example.
In this movie poster of Blade Runner 2049 we can see many cyberpunk elements being used for its aesthetic. The background shows a bleak, cold city that has advance aircraft flying around showing that its based on a high-tech dystopian world. The color palette used of dull orange and blue nicely contrast with each other while emphasizing the characters in front wearing dark clothes. I also want to point out the designer’s decision to use fiery orange and red for the big bold font of the title that easily draws your eyes to it. It is such a visually appealing poster that its hard not to appreciate the amount of work put into its design. The movie itself utilizes many more elements of cyberpunk design in its setting like using color grading to set the grim mood or how bold neon lights are used for symbolism and contrast.
In general, whether its a movie poster, book cover, painting, etc everything uses the principles of design in it. So next time you’re admiring something as simple as your favorite singer’s new album cover I highly recommend you stop and appreciate the thought put into the color scheme, font, shapes, proportions and more because the art of design is more fascinating when every detail holds a meaning.
After reading the article and watching the videos linked it was interesting to see the change in perspective and development that I was able to have. It took me while to understand what was wrong with the photo of the lady, I thought that it was normal for a mirror to show different angles. I think that highlighted just how much previous experiences impact the way we view life today. In addition to this learning about how movie posters are constructed was interesting. Unlike a book, movie posters are meant to be judged. Being able to learn how colors are chosen was interesting because everything is calculated even if you think something as color is quite fickle. In addition to this, learning about the color trends like white backgrounds being used for marketing strategy because the photo can be recreated easily, or action movies having a man running in them made me want to pay more attention to the posters I see.
My reflection on this week’s reading, articles, and materials are mainly based on Chip Kidd. He’s a very intelligent and creative individual with a great sense of humor. I loved learning about his background and why he likes to make book jackets. I think he said something like “Idk, I’m just good at it” or something like that in the interview. I thought that was funny. One of the main parts of the conversation between Chip and Kelly that I found interesting was when they were talking about behind the scenes of what both the writer and the designer are going through. The writer and designer both have their own inspirations, visions, and missions for the book. Trying to align and build both of their ideas and creations together is an incredible process that takes a lot of analysis and effort.
I also loved Chipp Kidd’s Ted Talk video. His sense of humor, body language, the way he got the crowd engaged, pure talent! Not only is he great at what he does but he’s a wonderful public speaker/figure.
Deep diving a little more each week into our Cyber and Tech themes and graphic design is interesting. Learning more of the history, inspirations, and effects of the themes futuristic/neon/glitch style made me realize on what I can look forward to in the weeks ahead!
Learning about design and what goes into it was a lot more than I expected. When I design things like wallpapers and posters I tend to do these things without thinking. I had the opportunity to check out the book by Chip Kidd and learned a lot from his book. I liked how everything was described by using the design or typeface he was writing about.
The part of the book that caught my eye is something that I have never seen before, reading from right to left! Chip points out the cover of this book “Things We Didn’t See Coming” by Steven Amsterdam.
I have never thought about this type of design and it fascinates me. I have no idea what this book is about but I wanna read it.
I learned that design is both straightforward and complex. Design can be exactly what it means or it can be the complete opposite and all of it translates super well depending on how well you designed it! I also learned how to balance designs better. How too much color can be hard to read, or using a certain font will translate differently than another font might. I really liked digging into learning about design and I now have a better eye out for these things as I go through the day!
There were a lot of topics regarding design that were covered in these articles and videos, but the elements that stuck with me the most were color and typography. As someone who has done my fair share of graphic design as an event runner and social media manager for all sorts of organizations, color and typography are always something I’m very conscious about, however, I could never synthesize and summarize my thoughts to describe why. These articles and videos really helped me understand my own mind and thoughts, specifically the videos of the movie poster expert and the Stranger Things font, and the article about Chip Kidd’s book.
I’ve always been a bit more in tune with my understanding and perception of colors in my design as I’ve always found that to be one of the key context clues in media to relay messages and tones. In fact, I dove into this in my Corpse Bride color analysis. Despite this being something I consider myself to be pretty in tune with, there were certain themes I had never really thought about. For example, how often blue is used for thriller movie posters or how different uses of negative space can convey entirely different messages.
Typography is the one I’ve always struggled to describe. I’ve always been aware of the influence it can have, I can understand that the tone and mood can change with a font, but up until now I haven’t been able to articulate why. I found the Stranger Things video particularly interesting as I always felt like I recognized the font, but couldn’t place it. It always had a retro feel, but after watching the video and seeing some of the other uses of that font that inspired the creation of the title sequence completely shifted my perspective and provided a much deeper nuance to the whole vibe especially knowing what the show is about.
The readings and videos we had to dive into for this week were definitely interesting. Hearing the thought process behind what goes into making a movie poster or the intro to a tv show just makes you appreciate the work itself even more.
In the Vanity Fair video, it was intriguing to hear how the use of color and spacing on a movie poster can introduce what the movie is about. For example, if a poster has all white in the background with the characters in front of it, the focus is supposed to be on the characters and what they are doing. Or, in the iconic Star Wars poster, how the blue represents space and the universe, and the lights and characters represent the narrative. Movies that are more action, thriller, or horror will probably use darker colors, while comedy and romance will use lighter colors. It was also awesome to hear the backstory of the Stranger Things intro (firstly because it is one of the only tv intros that I do not skip), and also their thought process in paying homage to classic 80’s filters and font’s.
Visual design plays a crucial role in shaping the audience’s and viewer’s perception and anticipation for movies or tv shows. A well-crafted movie poster or tv show intro uses different colors, fonts, and imagery in order to convey it’s message and to get the viewers hooked onto it. It not only enhances the marketing, but also makes it more memorable and impactful.
Some of my favorite examples of movie posters and tv show intros come from a variety of genres. I put some of my favs above. First, the infamous Stars Wars poster for Episode I. It is so simple, yet is sort of menacing with how we see little Anakin Skywalker, as well as the shadow behind him of what his future is. Next, Knives Out is one of my favorite movies of all time. What I like about the poster is how it perfectly encapsulates the plot and vibe of the movie. It is a murder mystery, and is based around a wealthy family. The almost portait-like filter on it makes it look like it is a family portrait. Lastly, the tv Yellowjackets, which is a show about a high school girls soccer team crashing in the Canadian forest on the way to Nationals. The font of the word “Yellowjackets” emphasizes their relationship as a team, while also showing the darkness that is to come behind it.
Overall, as you can tell, I truly enjoy a great movie poster or logo, as it enhances the viewer’s enjoyment and excitement for it. The readings and videos make me want to look more into the decision-making process behind visual designs for media.
