Poster 1, Poster 2, Poster 3

Poster 1:

While strolling through Lausanne in search of the Roman Museum I spotted this poster in a standee along the side of the road. There were several other poster standees around it, but this image stood out the most.

This style is mostly influenced by the photomontage artists as can be seen by its predominantly black and white images with a burst of a single color. The grid of the poster however links it to the International style of Posters. Its rigid shape and mathematical layout are key notes for this style.

The function of this piece is to advertise for an exhibition at the History Museum of Lausanne. The concept behind this advertisement seems to be to catch the viewers’ attention with the red color, and then provide them with a sampling of the history pictures that the exhibition has to offer by displaying the black and white photos put together in a collage style.

From fifty five feet away I initially noticed the red triangle. From five feet I then noticed the blocky text and logo. I had to move closer to examine in detail the photos that were displayed.

I feel that this poster was a definite success. The imagery was very intriguing to me as well as the simplicity of the color scheme. Simple lines were used to create a dynamic layout that caught the viewers’ attention, and then more detail in the photos to retain their attention.

Poster 2:

I spotted this poster after our excursion to church in Sion. It was down in the underground paths that take you across the road. The poster was hanging on the wall next to several others.

This poster is also heavily influenced by photomontage artists. Although it doesn’t use the black and white effect of the last, it use of limited color, predominantly brown and black with a splash of red allows it to stay in this category.

The function of this piece seems to be an advertisement for a collection on Japanese art held in Lausanne. The concept of this piece works around the attraction that the single object of the bird has. After the viewer has noticed this bird who has been framed by the text as well as the actual frame, then the eye is led to each of the text lines positioned directly at eye level.

The space that I initially viewed this in didn’t allow for a view from fifty five feet, but I would imagine the first attention would still be on the bird. The title of the collection would then be second, and as I stepped closer there was a good deal of texture in the airbrushed edges of the bird, as well as the dates which are kept smaller so they won’t be too distractive.

I thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity of this poster. Its key points were positioned directly along the vertical and horizontal axis which regularly I wouldn’t care for, but because of the lack of distractions in the outer edges I feel that this poster was successful.

Poster 3:

It isn’t everyday that you spot a large ear posted for the masses to see. Walking through Thun in the midst of a light rain storm I spotted this odd poster on a standee. It was the only poster in the little park we passed.

This posters grid layout and orderly text all aligned to the left places it in the International style. Although most of its traits are orderly and International, its limited color scheme also places it in with the photomontage category.

The function of this piece is to convey a schedule for the months of May and June of different concerts that are going on in this given concert hall. The concept behind this was understandable even in a different language. The large ear makes you assume these events are something you listen to, and the musical notes coming from the ear make it obvious that it must be music. After you’ve understood that then you can move over and view the dates and other information of the artists that are being featured.

From fifty five feet away I noticed a massive ear. Not that a large ear are abnormal in any way, they just are generally the focal point of an advertisement. From five feet away the text is your next visual attention getter. There is a lot of it because they have a large amount of information to convey, but their orderly way along with hierarchy for the lines makes it easier to read. When you get closer you’ll start to notice the texture that has been placed over the ear and surrounding green area. It brings the viewer closer just to understand what it is doing.

Regularly I wouldn’t care for an overly large ear, but in this case I think it did a great job of conveying without words what the poster was trying to display.