This week we got a bit of a look into the world of designing and it was honestly kinda wild to see how much thought goes into even the simplest book covers or movie posters.

Reading the article, A Kid’s Guide to Graphic Design Article by Iconic Designer Chip Kidd which discusses Chipp Kidd’s nonfiction children’s book about graphic design, we’re introduced to a few major topics. “Whether you realize it or not, most of the decisions you make, every day, are by design” and “Everything that is not made by nature is designed by someone.” These two statements from the book really stood out to me as this is an aspect of design I had never really considered before. When most people think of design we usually imagine logos, billboards, ads, etc., but to see that so many other things are designed by someone truly does shape our understanding of the world around us.

The rest of the book strives to explain design not in boring jargon and over-complicated explanations of simple concepts but instead makes them easy to understand by having each page feature fun examples of the concepts he explains which makes it a fun read for kids.

One of the most interesting discussions the book brings up that I had never known was happening in the design community was whether art and design are vastly different or the same. Apparently, most graphic designers argue that art and design are different though Kidd argues that this idea is wrong. “Graphic design needs your willing mental participation, even if it’s subconscious. Graphic design is message-sending into the brain. It is a cerebral experience, not a physical one. Architecture wants you to walk through it. Industrial design takes your hand (or other body parts) to appreciate it. Fashion makes you put it on. But Graphic design is purely a head trip, from your eyes to your mind.” And after reading this I completely agree with Kidd. Design, whether graphic or physical, is an art form that requires coordination and intends to convey some sort of message to its viewer.

The Between The Lines: Chip Kidd interview and the TED Talk Chip Kidd: Designing books is no laughing matter. OK, it is both discuss the thought that goes into designing book covers which I found very interesting. This job’s main goals are to attract readers and create a book cover that is a distillation of the story because book jackets must work on their own without explanation. To do this we must ask ‘What do the stories look like?’ because these covers are here to give potential readers a first impression which brings form to content without treating them like they’re dumb. The book designer’s responsibility is to the reader, the publisher, and the author most importantly which is completed by balancing arts, commerce, and design.

Watching The Art of Movie Posters and How Stranger Things got its retro title sequence both seemed to take concepts discussed in the previous articles and videos and put them into action which was cool to see the real-life examples we see in the media all the time. The main things used to convey certain themes in these media are: the usage of colors with universal meanings, typography, spacing of text, utilizing negative space, as well as reusing notable elements from other things to convey either a homage or a different time being played.

After looking at all these videos and articles I definitely feel like I not only have a better understanding of designs used to promote media, but also design that permeates in all of our lives which absolutely makes me rethink a lot of things in the world around me.

I have a deep love for movies and the culture around it, but I focused more on the creative choices within the stories. The design of the posters and the title itself is a creative process that, when done right, can subconsciously give the audience a feeling to go off of. Seeing how Stranger Things used an 80’s font and design gives an aesthetic and nostalgic feeling for many people. I think it is important to see any form of creativity and question why it affects you in the way it does. For example, the use of color and size in posters is much more complex than I had imagined. They can give hints on the genre and mood of the movie from one image.

Upon watching the video from Vox, I was fascinated to hear that not only did the title designers of Stranger Things utilize a font from the 1980s but they also created the title sequence just how they did in the 80s’. It has become quite a trend to bring back older techniques and styles. Not only in technology but in fashion as well. It is one of my favorite trends to be quite honest. I absolutely enjoy seeing things be utilized from different generations.

The video by VanityFair has completely changed how I will now view movie posters. I never before picked up on the common theme with the colors and font sizes of various movies. It was interesting to see how small hints of red means comedy and dark, eerie blue is for thriller.

I think I have grown a new interest in finding out the history and techniques of movie posters and titles.

This week I learned about book jacket and movie poster design. Some of the videos and articles I read are below so you can enjoy them as well. (Not all of them could be linked)

Going in, I was interested to hear what professionals had to say about their work. Visual art is something that feels so abstract and illusive, but there are formulas that only the artists know. In Chip Kidd’s TED Talk and Between the Lines interview he briefly discussed how to approach a story from a design standpoint. He explained that the designer’s job is to distill a story to it’s fundamental pieces and then try to relate those to an audience. Movie poster and TV title designers seemed to agree: a designer’s job is to attract readers or viewers.

There are many ways to convey an idea or emotion through book jackets and movie posters. James Verdesoto explained how different colors are tied to genres and the purposes they serve. For example, red text and a white background are often used for comedies, especially in the early 2000s. These colors help to focus the viewer on one element of the poster, which is usually a staged photograph featuring key characters. Posters with yellow backgrounds signal that the movie is indie or otherwise has a small production budget, as yellow quickly catches people’s eyes. He explained how many indie posters get inspiration from vintage posters and punk rock graphics.

Graphic design has many tactics to gain attention, but ultimately a design is personal to the story, time, and artist creating it. I think it’s important not to forget the care put into posters and book jackets. While there are trends and methods to catch eyes, this work is first and foremost about the stories and the people behind those stories.

I really loved these videos, it really was engaging in a sense of being able to break down piece by piece and went to the professionals for help. I really found fascinating was the color schemes with all the movie posters in the Vanity Fair video! When he was showing a ton next to each other it was shocking to see how similar they all truly are. After watching that video I looked up if all of the Disney Princess’s movie and it is cool to look at because it seems to pair the colors from the dress and their hair to the background. for Example, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty have pink dresses and blonde hair and both of the backgrounds are blue and green.

With the Vox video I also really loved because Stranger Things is one of my favorite shows to watch just because it is such a time jump to a time I wasn’t born in but my mom was growing up around that time and its cool to watch a thriller and also learn what my mom grew up with. I think it was really awesome with the typography pair with that they had a vision with and how they executed it to the wonderful masterpiece it is! They used book covers they loved in their time to make it happen but with the video with the book cover artist, it was cool to see how creative he is and how to pair the story to the cover without using too much negative space with the letters. I am not so much a book fan myself so I normally don’t pay attention to book covers because they do have they same kind of style in my opinion.

I think these were really cool ways to break down a graphic design for a movie, book, or show!

-Reese Kubricki

Watching and reading all of the articles and videos related to designing of covers was very interesting! You don’t really think about the thoughts behind the cover or the poster or the intro because you become too focused on the actual media, that you just go immediately into it without a second thought.

It really made me think about the whole idea of “don’t judge a book by its cover,” which I always thought was so interesting to me. Personally, I think you should judge books by their covers. If you aren’t judging it by the cover, you are just opening a book or a show or something just for the sake of watching it. I feel like you have to acknowledge that cover to understand the media, to understand what you’re getting into.

It’s almost like first impressions, which we talk a lot about in Social Psychology. Do they matter, and if they do, why do they matter? Why do we make them? Are they fair? Are our first impressions right?

It’s human nature to make those first impressions, but the honest answer to the other questions is that it depends. Sometimes they matter, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they are fair, sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are not. It’s situational! And I feel like this applies to covers too! Because we never can be sure if the first impression is right, I think it’s important to not rely on first impressions, but I also think that it is completely fair and natural to make that first impression.

There is so much work put into designing these covers to give you that first impression. In a sense, the designer is retelling the story through another format. If you don’t like that telling, you may not like the book or the show or whatever media it is. But, you also may love the story despite not liking the cover. Why does it matter?

We make these assumptions and impressions so fast, too fast for us to even realize. You can look at a cover once and immediately decide your thoughts on it. But that makes me wonder, why?

Then that also makes me wonder, why are some covers easier to judge or quicker to be judged?

I just think it’s really important to acknowledge how designers choose to retell these stories in ways that can speak to the audience. The design is the first impression, they have to make it speak out and stand out towards the audience. They have to be so important that they are judged quickly, that attention is brought to them, and I think it’s okay if that attention is good or bad. Attention is attention and publicity is publicity.

I think my thoughts are kind of all over the place, but this is just so interesting to me on so many different levels! I personally love judging books by covers and making my own thoughts and impressions because then I like to see how they’ve changed by the time I’ve actually consumed the media! It’s like a journey to me!