the art of the poster: history + creation

100 Years of Designed Propaganda

2010-06-20T05:15:00.000-07:00

Advertising is propaganda. Propaganda is advertising. 100 Years Of Propaganda: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is a nice collection of the art and the artists who strive to direct public opinion and actions. What skills and strategies are commonly employed in both advertising and political propaganda? Are there commonalities in the use of color? What role does color serve in all four of these examples?

The Difference Between Art and Design

2009-10-08T03:30:00.000-07:00

Web Designer Depot has a terrific article that flows seamlessly into our discussion and exploration of the poster. Please read this short piece, as we will be addressing this issue in class. The main distinctions the author makes are:

Good Art Inspires. Good Design Motivates.
Good Art Is Interpreted. Good Design Is Understood.
Good Art Is a Taste. Good Design Is an Opinion.
Good Art Is a Talent. Good Design Is a Skill.
Good Art Sends a Different Message to Everyone.
Good Design Sends the Same Message to Everyone.

So what do you think?
Is there a clear distinction between art + design? Or do they overlap?
Can good design be good art? Does good art need to be well designed?

Photoshop Poster Creation Tips + Tutorial Resources

2009-10-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

The Vandelay Design Blog has 35 Photoshop tutorials for creating various types of posters. It is very handy, and may give you some ideas and inspiration for deciding on a direction for the poster you will create. The site also contains tutorials concerning textures and typography. Six Revisions is another blog with 26 different tutorials for poster creation. SpeckyBoy Design Magazine's blog provides "37 Cool Poster and Text Effects" tutorials. BittBox offers tutorials and free textures. Hongkiat.com has 56 video tutorials for different Photoshop techniques. Spoonfed Design has many type effect tutorials that you could employ in a poster. There is a lot of variety here.

These are just some of the many resources available to you. Look through them to spur ideas, or as techniques you can apply to your ideas. These tutorials will show you creative ways to employ these tools and push beyond your current boundaries.

A Brief History of the Poster

2009-10-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

The International Poster Gallery has a nice, brief history of the poster. Vintage posters are highly collectible and sought after. Businesses that sell vintage posters are usually a good source of information and history, as they want to educate and instill value to their customers. They include very helpful style primers. Their collection ranges from the 1800's through contemporary posters, across many genres, with hand-painted, photography, and typography solutions all evident. There is much to explore: musical posters from jazz to opera, a fine Russian collection, travel and great photo montage posters, and a fantastic collection of Post-Modern and Pop-Art posters. This is a must-visit site and and incredible resource.

Questions: How do posters reflect, as well as shape, culture? After exploring this site, how effective are the posters that use typography as the primary design element? Are there any particular design rules that lead to successful posters (i.e. proportion, contrast, color)?

Posters + Communism

2009-10-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

This site from The International Institute of Social History, titled: The Chairman Smiles, explores the role of the poster in the 3 dominant communist societies: the USSR, China, and Cuba. It is a fascinating look at the design sensibilities of the genre, and the similarities + differences between them. We will compare + contrast these posters and their characteristics with those of the United States and Germany during World War II.

Which leads us to some questions: How does a work's subject matter or back story affect its legitimacy and artistic merit? How are the ideals of communism reflected in the design? Are there different design concerns versus a poster from the United States?

Early History of The Poster

2009-10-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to Design History, a site giving a fantastic overview of the early history + development of poster art. This has a great timeline and you are able to see different movements, important artists, how the art form developed, and why.

Mucha, La Dame aux Camélias, 1896
The Mucha Foundation

Question: Why would established fine artists employ the poster as a vehicle for their art? How does technological development affect an art form?

The Art of The Poster: History + Creation

2009-10-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

Our graphic design unit will cover the history of the poster as art, explore its elements and famous practitioners, and finally, each student will apply this knowledge and understanding with design and Photoshop skills to create a multi-media poster.

Whether promoting an event, a concert or theatrical performance, or to rally sentiment as a tool of propaganda, the poster's immediate goal is to catch the attention of the passerby, impelling them into action. We will be focusing on various heydays of posters from the late 1800's through today, their styles and their impacts, along with famous artists who have employed the poster as a medium for expression and profit.

From Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's depictions of the 1890's Paris nightlife (“La Goulue Performing at Moulin Rouge” 1891) to Art Nouveau and Post Modern, the posters of war and propaganda, to current movie, concert, and theater posters, the poster is a powerful force in the visual library of modern society. We will explore the poster as an art form and try to decode what elements make for successful poster design.

We will be covering the history and purposes of the poster in art + society for 1 week, concluding with groups of 2-3 students presenting various important time periods, genres or artists to the class.

The following 3 weeks will be devoted to the creation of your poster. Using Photoshop and Adobe Creative Suite, we will apply our understanding of poster history and effective design toward the creation our own poster. The subject matter of your poster can be theater/opera, concert, a literary work, promotion of the school or school event/club, or if you have an idea for something outside of these, we can talk about it. We will explore different tools and techniques and employ them to achieve impactful, eye-catching typography, texture, and design effects. I will be checking that you have at least 3 thumbnail concepts in your sketchbooks, from which you will select your favorite concept and then work out at least 3 solutions before selecting your final design.

You are going to be executing a mixed media poster, incorporating photography, artwork, and typography. You will need to show evidence of the use of at least 2 filters and the transform tool. You will need to employ an adjustment layer and a mask.

Finally, we will discuss the effectiveness of your posters through a class critique, where you will describe the purpose or concept behind your poster, give examples of your inspiration (style, artist, subject matter, etc.), describe some of the effects you employed, while defending and explaining your choices.

The class will follow the PSA format for comments during the critique:
P = something POSITIVE
S = SOMETHING you'd like to have seen done differently, or seen done better
A = how the piece AFFECTED you (how it makes you think or feel)

Upon completion of this unit, you will have a grasp of the poster's role in art and society since the 19th Century, effective poster design techniques and important artists and movements in the history of poster art. You will also be reflect this knowledge and your grasp of specific Photoshop techniques, in the creation of your own poster.

Thank You Bernie Fuchs

2009-09-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

The greatest illustrator of the past 50 years passed away this week. Mr. Fuchs is the reason I always wanted to be an illustrator. He was the inspiration. His light, his design, and the beauty he conveyed to the canvas was unchallenged by other illustrators for over 40 years. He blurred the line between fine art and illustration in much the same manner as N.C. Wyeth did earlier in the 20th Century. He'll always be the best, and will be missed.

Fuchs and Tiger Stadium.
Only he could capture the beauty + character of the place.

This image from Sports Illustrated and many more of Fuchs' paintings and artwork can be seen at The Telluride Gallery of Fine Art.

Here is a great article from the Washington Post about his life.

And a couple of blogs that get to the heart of Mr. Fuch's talents + contributions:
Drawn! Today's Inspiration Illustration Art

Questions:
Can illustration be considered fine art? Does the commercial aspect of the work detract from its merit as a work of art? Is there a difference between Fuchs' painting of Tiger Stadium and, say, a painting from Monet's Rouen Cathedral series? How are they similar and different?

iTunes Style Photoshop Illustration

2009-09-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

This is cool, especially the background. Very versatile.

Question: What are some applications for this background? What about the figure treatment, how could you apply that to another project?

Integration

2009-09-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to figure out if I can somehow integrate all I am learning and working on in EDU 560 Technology class with my EDU 688 Secondary Curriculum class.

From a backward design standpoint, I want to end up with a Photoshop/CS3 assignment, but I want to get there via some art history to give it some scope and meaning. I'm thinking Toulouse-Lautrec , Warhol, Raushenberg,... I want there to be more than technical skill learning, but also building understanding of design and of the role applied art has held in art history. A theatre poster project? Book cover? A mixed media aspect? BTW- I'm open to ideas!

Kellogg's Job

2009-09-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

I'm about to start the final art phase of an illustration job for Kellogg's, promoting their products as a good source of fiber to schools. PopTarts, who knew?! The marker comps I worked on have been approved. Now I will begin all the final vector illustrations -- due on Tuesday the 22nd (my wife Janet's birthday). So really, it's due on Monday!

Digital Inking Tutorial - Intuos - Illustrator CS3

2009-09-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Rendering a spacegirl in Illustrator

2009-09-10T17:46:00.000-07:00