Poster design - Design For Print

With the concept of the book Music culture in Leeds, as well as sticking to the focus of type, it was clear to look at poster design, with this focus it will help to look at the format and layout of the posters as well as the content and what makes poster and poster art so effective.With this research a layout and style can become apparent from the styles used in the posters.

Music posters be it concert or album advertising regularly follow a trend of filling the space with image and placing the type at the bottom of the page (in both of these examples beneath the imagery). Posters are made to represent a concert or a bands style, the first impression can give the viewer an impression of the band, this is the same for a book or publication it will need to speak to the target audience and give off the correct impression. This layout used by the posters isolating the type to the bottom third of the page could be an interesting layout to use for the layout of the pages of the publication.

Concert posters need to also be legible and easily read to attract more attention to the concert. The above posters both contain type which is too small and in parts completely ineligible. Though it is also very visually pleasing, there is no limits to style that can be used on a poster, with the Jonny Gruesome poster a 3 colour screen print style with a pink hand rendered type lays over the top, the colours work strongly and though there is a lot going on the poster is well balanced and works really well as a visual.

Posters catch the eye and evoke emotion, bright colours and strong imagery. The vibrant colours are more pleasing to the eye and would attract people to look at it closer. Outlandish designs can be a strong selling point, they are unique and can be iconic, music goers want to feel they are getting a unique experience.  Colours can be related to bands or styles of music The strokes poster (Above Left) follows an old style and shows nudity, it is rebelling against social acceptance of nudity, similar to the styles used during times of Punk music and anarchy,

The above posters show care and consideration to layout and to following a grid system. Looking at the alignment and positioning of the type on the Ray Charles concert poster a grid system becomes apparent, from the date of this poster (1969) it was created way before technology and screens, this piece would have been produced entirely by hand, with a drawn grid system and planned layout. Grids bring structure and balance to designs such as these two above, in the other posters looked at, loose structures were in place, these two are much more meticulous with the details.