The entertainment industry is an essential part of our business, and also something we are very interested in personally. We love movies and music and pour our passion for it into our entertainment design. But what designs do we like?
The art of the movie poster has been around since the dawn of film and the range of artistic expression (of lack thereof) in movie posters is as broad as the genre’s they represent. Many designers credit Saul Bass as being one of the masters of design, especially when it comes to movie posters. He is most well-known for creating many of the iconic posters for Alfred Hitchcock films, the most recognizable and famous of those being for Vertigo. But Bass also designed many company logos still recognizable today such as the AT&T ‘Bell’ and ‘Globe’ logos, the Girls Scouts of the USA logo, the Geffen Records logo, and the United Way logo that is still used today. In movies posters though, Bass started a trend that is still practiced today, a trend of graphically representing films instead of just using images of the stars. Other famous Bass posters include James Stewart’s Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, The Shining, and It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.
In more recent movie posters, we tend to like designs that stay away from the mass market photoshopped heads look that frequents many DVD covers. Here are a few of our favorites and why we love them:
J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 is a great example of a simple poster done elegantly, but having the nerve to go against conventions. To put the main image on its side is eye catching and brilliant. Combined with simple but effective use of text makes for an instantly memorable poster.
The Crazies is one main image that conveys everything you need to know about the movie. Someone is scary, bloody and had a pitchfork. Sold.
V For Vendetta is using artwork to its full potential. It is designed true to the nature and feel of the film itself and is attractive and memorable.
Tarantino usually has very nice poster work and his last two films are no exception. Again with Inglorious Basterds we get all the information we need about the film in one simple image. Nazi helmet, blood, bat. We are there. With Django Unchained they obviously go the retro and very Saul Bass inspired and it works like gangbusters. Very simple illustration but you couldn’t really ask for more bang for your buck. Gorgeous.
More recently horror movie poster design has really been raising the bar for poster design. Andrés Muschietti’s Mama was a great old fashioned horror movie and the poster was brilliant photography and layout used to maximum effect. Dark, gritty and speaks volumes with little.
The alien abduction film Dark Skies continues with the simple layout and one piece of beautiful photography. The stunning imagery makes for a very attractive poster and successfully communicates the film’s tone instantly.
Scott Derrickson’s Sinister was a surprise hit and rightfully so. A great film with a foreboding sense of dread throughout and a brilliant score by Christopher Young made Sinister one of the biggest genre hits of the past year. The poster is a nice combination of art and photography and once again proves that simple is often the most effective.
The new remake of Sam Raimi’s classic Evil Dead had one of the best marketing campaigns of the year and it was all anchored by this captivating image and bold use of text. Any horror fan who saw this poster would buy a ticket regardless of the title.
The first Hollywood film by acclaimed Korean director Chan-wook Park (Oldboy, Thirst) is Stoker starring Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman and Matthew Goode. The film looks fantastic and the poster is a brilliant example of how to intrigue the audience without revealing anything at all about the film. The poster screams out that something is wrong with these people but in no specific way. A stunning photograph with a reflection that just feels wrong says it all with this beautiful poster.
