Bardo Anthology Book Cover / Poster Design
Published 2023/10/26 at 2:28 pm
Introduction
This project is connected with integrated seminar 1. The purpose of the project is group cooperation, and the finished product is a book. Each group will be assigned different opposite themes, while integrated studio 1 is to create corresponding posters according to familiar themes and contents.
Our project theme is hero/monster, and the team members are Fany, Ali, Ruoyu and Nancy. The poster will be divided into four parts, each of us responsible for a different part and put it in a different context.
Research
The theme chosen by our group is: “1919-1938: Between the World Wars: Modernism & Art Deco”. During this period, between World War I and World War II, society underwent great changes. Modernist art explores the inner world of human beings, emphasizes individualism and irrational emotional expression, pays attention to visual effects and decorative sense, and applies a large number of geometric patterns. We focused on the artist Erte specially, who is known for his elegant, elongated figures and extravagant costumes and set designs that captured the exuberance of the era. We are inspired by his figure drawing and black background that enforce the character.
Empathize
Since our theme is hero/monster, our overall content will be more oriented to teenager, because there will be a variety of fantasy scenes, magical monsters, difficult to resolve conflicts, which attract more attention of those teenager who are passionate fantasy. Therefore, the location where the poster is hung is probably in the school, and the specific location will be placed around the elevator and drinking fountain, because people will have a lot of time to do nothing here, and the poster placed here can be better read by them.
Define
For the context we needed to include in our poster, I think we will mainly use the two contexts of place and horror. To echo the above mentioned fantasy scene, Magic monster, we will create a mysterious magic scene, creating a suspenseful thriller atmosphere. At the same time, it can be combined with horror elements, such as ghost creatures and dark forces, so that the scene appears more novel and make people nervous. These creative points are both appealing to teenagers and echo the hero/monster theme of our poster.
Ideate
Prototype
Stage 1 Reflection
I think the team challenge we have now is that we don’t have a particularly efficient way of communicating, and most of the communication is done online, which means we have a lot of problems that can’t be solved in a timely manner. I think the way to improve is offline communication, so that we can become more efficient and have more unified ideas, and better finish the production of posters.
My two prototype posters took inspiration from the Art Deco artist Erté, using a black background to accentuate the figures in a sleek, stylized manner. While this allowed me to capture the elegant elongation characteristic of Erté’s work, the prototypes feel rather monotonic in texture and composition. For future iterations, I aim to push myself further in paper collage techniques - layering diverse scraps and experimenting with dynamic angles and shapes to build visual interest and depth. This will help me move beyond uniformity into more nuanced collages that better showcase the energy and imagination of the Art Deco era. With more varied paper elements and daring arrangements, I hope to produce posters with the stylish flair and vivacity that Erté brought to his iconic designs.
Poster Creating Process
The Final Poster
Figure drawing: Rouyu
Background drawing: Nancy & Fany
Typography: Fany
Collage: Fany & Rouyu & Nancy
Stage 2 Reflection
I think the biggest problem our team encountered was that we lacked a team member in the production process, and our work process was indeed greatly affected. At the beginning of the project, we misunderstood the size of the poster, and the previous design scheme could not be used, so we had to start over. This has certainly added to our workload. As a member of the team, I should have strengthened communication with other members and worked out an optimization plan based on the current situation. But I was trying to take on extra work on my own, trying to make up for the lack of staff. This obviously puts a lot of pressure on me personally.
What I find interesting about this project is that when we work together as a group to make posters, we can feel that our different styles are integrated together, but not out of place. Each of us has a different solution to the problem, and it is interesting to compare the best. At the same time, I think the most interesting place is that I found some useful things in the recycling shelf of the making center, which undoubtedly greatly helped our group project process.
Through reflection, I realized the importance of teamwork. Each of us has our own strengths, and we need to give full play to our professional strengths and share the responsibility for the project. I shouldn’t blame myself for other people’s mistakes. The team needs to encourage each other. I shouldn’t try to do it all by myself, the team needs to work together.