Exercise 4 - Designer in Focus

 

Overview:

For this project, you will choose a historical or contemporary graphic designer, research their work and philosophy, and then create a poster that represents them or their work, designed in their signature style. Your poster should reflect the designer’s aesthetic principles, approach to layout, typography, color, and overall visual communication. The goal is to immerse yourself in their design language and apply it to your own poster, showing both your research and creativity in interpreting their style.

 

Requirements:

1. Choose a Graphic Designer: Select a graphic designer who inspires you or whose work intrigues you. This could be a historical figure like Saul Bass, Paul Rand, or Milton Glaser, or a contemporary designer like Jessica Walsh, Stefan Sagmeister, or Paula Scher.

2. Research Your Designer: Once you’ve selected your designer, conduct research on their work, their design philosophy, and their most notable projects. Look at how they use typography, color, layout, and imagery to communicate their ideas. Focus on understanding what makes their design style unique and how they approach visual communication.

3. Create a Poster in Their Style: Using the insights from your research, design a poster that either promotes or celebrates the designer you chose. The content of the poster is up to you—it could be about a fictional event, a quote by the designer, or even a piece that introduces them to the public. The key is that the design should feel like it could have been created by the designer themselves. The poster should reflect their style, whether that’s bold and playful, minimalist and structured, or something else entirely.

4. Incorporate Visual Elements of Their Work: Pay close attention to how your chosen designer uses type, imagery, and layout. If they are known for hand-drawn elements or bold typography, incorporate those features into your design. If they use minimalist grids or clean lines, reflect that aesthetic in your poster.

5. Poster Size: The final poster should be 8.5” x 11” in portrait orientation. You can choose to work in color or black and white, depending on the designer’s style.

Example:

If you choose Saul Bass, known for his iconic movie posters and title sequences, your poster might incorporate bold, minimal shapes, limited color palettes, and strong, impactful typography. You could design a poster for an event that highlights his contributions to film design, using the same sharp contrasts and graphic style he was famous for.

Alternatively, if you select Jessica Walsh, your poster might feature bold, oversized typography with a playful mix of color and texture, reflecting her energetic and experimental design style. You could design a poster about one of her design philosophies, using layered imagery and vibrant elements that capture the experimental yet thoughtful nature of her work.

 

 

Tools:

• You can create your poster digitally using design software like Adobe Express, Canva, or InDesign/Illustrator (if you are familiar with that software).

• Alternatively, you can create it by hand using collage, illustration, or a mix of materials that reflect your designer’s approach.

 

 

For Submission

• Upload a .jpg of your final poster design to Canvas

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