Design a promotional poster for a museum exhibit

Defining our Context

Decide Your Exhibit Name
We need an exhibit to design for i.e.: we need content and direction. You have a few options:

1. Start with the name "Uncommonwealth", a fictitious contemporary art exhibit I've created for the project. Uncommonwealth embraces the idea that it doesn't take much to change the way you see. It is about finding physical or emotional beauty in uncommon ways. In my project for this class, it is a landscape I found in an image of a plastic bag. Uncommonwealth is a play on words in that it refers to both 'Uncommon wealth' which is a way of seeing value, but also the creation of an 'Un-commonwealth' which is a place with differing values than a typical commonwealth or nation.

2. If you have a favorite exhibit you have visited, you can use that name as a starting point to build your own identity, imagery, and poster. I've listed some of my favorite museums in the resources below.

3. Or create your own fictitious museum exhibit name based on a theme that resonates with you.
Consider Your Audience
Depending on the exhibit you choose to work with, there may be varying audiences. It is not possible to anticipate every visitor to an exhibit but you can still keep a few things in mind:

• Where is the exhibit? Is it at a contemporary art museum? A more traditional art museum? Is it at a science museum maybe? What is the focus of the museum?

• Identifying place helps clarify your audience. A three-century old painted portrait may attract a different audience than an angular, chrome sculpture. Your poster design would ultimately reflect these differences in both content and audience.

• Audiences will certainly cross and mingle. But if you consider what the focus of the museum itself is and who the exhibit was designed to attract, you've got a great starting point for your poster.
Identify Supporting Information
With your exhibit name chosen and your audience clearer, let's write down supporting information which will be useful on the poster:

• The name of the museum. This may seem obvious, but it's also easily forgotten once you get into image making.

• What are the dates of the exhibit?

• If it is a collaborative exhibit with multiple contributors, do you want to list the contributors names? Would that help attract more visitors?

• Where can a visitor learn more information? Website?

• In many instances exhibits may be sponsored by non-profit arts organizations or private companies who help make the exhibit possible. If you are looking for an added challenge, consider integrating sponsor logos into the poster. This adds another level to the information hierarchy to work with.

Making Imagery

A Note About Tools
Before we start making I will mention that many graphic designers, including myself, use Adobe's Creative Suite of software. The three applications I use most frequently are Adobe Illustrator for illustration, Adobe Photoshop for image editing, and Adobe InDesign for layout and publishing. These programs can be quite pricey. Adobe now uses a subscription model for these programs where you pay per month which can be helpful. You can also test the software by downloading a free trial.

Focusing on fundamental concepts in graphic design, this course won't dive into the details of each application but you can take classes which address each of the three here at Skillshare.

There are also free alternatives to each application, but they often lack the level of functionality of the Adobe products. Inkscape is an alternative to Illustrator, GIMP is an alternative to Photoshop, and Open Office is an alternative to InDesign. You can certainly work with these applications, but know that the industry standard in graphic design is Adobe.

Or you can shun the computer all together. Some thirty years ago, computers were not yet common in the design world. Designers used techniques like cut paper, hand illustration, letra set type, letter press, and many others. So if you want to keep things analog, you can certainly pay homage to some of the design classics like Saul Bass and Milton Glaser.
Ideate Concepts
Before deciding if your imagery will be photographic, illustrative, or maybe something else altogether, first create a rapid-fire list of ideas.

• Don't dwell on one idea too long or edit yourself.

• Jot down anything and everything that comes to mind.

• Sketch, list, write, free form associate, collage.

• There is no bad idea in this project step.

• Open as many doors as you want. And likely the best idea will come forward. This is the simplest beauty of the design process.
Choose a Concept
Once you've come up with pages and pages of ideas:

• Begin eliminating ideas which might be good, but not entirely communicate the concept to the appropriate audience. Sometimes good ideas have to be cut to get to great ideas.

• Ask yourself what most accurately conveys the exhibit's concept to your audience? What makes a compelling image? How can a poster get someone's attention in three seconds or less? These questions will likely begin determining what kind of imagery to use—be it photographic, illustrative, collaged, etc.

• If you have multiple concepts which seem promising, choose more than one and work on them simultaneously. The design process is best when you can compare and contrast options. In most creative environments you will work on multiple concepts at once and present them to a client. Very rarely does your first idea end up being the winning idea.
Create (Create, Create)
With your concept(s) now clearer it's time to start making imagery that expresses the concept. There are a number of ways to go about this:

• Use a camera to photograph original content; many cellphones are now capable of taking high resolution photos if you don't have access to a camera.

• Draw, paint, etch, or even build objects for your image.

• If your concept is proving challenging to capture, you can consider searching for images on the internet. You can find images which have been approved by their owners for use by others via a Creative Commons search. If you do find an image through Creative Commons, be sure to review the license that accompanies and always credit the creator. Always.

• As a last resort you can search for imagery at sites like iStockphoto, Corbis, or Getty Images. These images can be pricey and I would always recommend trying to create your own imagery first.

• Lastly, never use images found on the internet if you don't know where they have come from and don't have permission to use them.

Working with Typography

Typeface v. Font
Before we dive into choosing typefaces, we'll first define a couple key terms. In many instances the words typeface and font are used interchangeably but they are in fact slightly different.

• Typeface refers to the actual design of a set of alphabetic characters. It is what you see on your computer, on a poster, in a book.

• Font refers to the file which exists on your computer and allows you to use a typeface in your work.

Consider this metaphor: typeface is to song, as font is to MP3. The first is a creative output. The second is a format.
Understanding Categories of Typefaces
The design of typefaces is an incredibly intricate process. It is itself a profession within the larger world of graphic design. Some designers dedicate their entire careers to typeface design. Over the course of creative history possibly millions of typefaces have been designed. But not all typefaces are created equal, especially in the digital world. So where do you start? First we will break typefaces up into a few simplified categories: serif, sans serif, and display. Certainly there are more categories but for the purposes of this unit, we'll try to think in these terms.

• Serif refers to a small contrasting line at the end of a letter's stroke. If you pick up a novel sitting on your shelf, the body copy you read is likely serif. And you'd be most likely to see a serif typeface on a poster at a history museum for example. For these reasons (and others) serif is typically considered more traditional. Times New Roman is a ubiquitous example of a serif. Within the serif category you may see sub-categories like slab serif, humanist, and more.

• Sans serif literally translates to "without serif." It refers to typefaces which lack that contrasting line at a stroke's end, which commonly defines a serif. Chances are the very words you are now reading on your computer appear as sans serif. And you'd be most likely to see a sans serif typeface on a poster at a modern art museum. For these reasons (and others) sans serif is considered more contemporary. Helvetica is a ubiquitous example of a sans serif. Within the sans serif category you may see sub-categories like rounded, mono, and more.

• Display can refer to a vast swath of typefaces which are neither deemed serif nor sans serif. These encompass everything from script, to black letter, hand drawn to geometric, and more. Display typefaces can range in style from classical to new age, vintage to experimental, and beyond. Usually they are not the kinds of typefaces you'd want to set large bodies of copy in.

To dive even deeper into the world of typographic anatomy, visit this useful guide on Typedia.

There are exceptions to all rules when it comes to categorizing typefaces. But when researching typefaces consider what category they generally fall into, if they appear more traditional or more contemporary, and what kind of typeface(s) would best convey your concept to your audience. It all comes back to content and audience.
Characterizing Typefaces
Within typefaces themselves you may see varying options like weight, width, case, and more. These variants collectively compose a full family of a typeface, each with their own corresponding font. It is possible to use one weight or width of a typeface without using all the weights or widths. This in return effects your total cost for fonts. More weights and widths = more money, but greater control over your type hierarchy too.

• Weight refers to the width of the stroke of a letter. Some typefaces come in tens of weights ranging from thin to thick. A common family of typeface weights might go: Hairline, Extra Thin, Thin, Light, Regular, Bold, Black, Ultra Black. This is important because weight effects not only how the type looks, but also how it is read, and the hierarchy of information. Weight can have a considerable impact on the overall feel of your design too.

• Width of course refers to how wide a letter is. Some typefaces have multiple width variants commonly ranging from Ultra Condensed (narrow) to Extended (wider).

• Case refers to whether a typeface has both upper and lower case characters. Some typefaces have variants called Titling or Small Caps which lack true lower case characters.
Research Typefaces
You can begin your type search at places like Font Shop, Adobe, Linotype, or My Fonts. Beware, these collections are vast and can be very time consuming but such is the design process! Because typefaces and the fonts that embody them represent hundreds and even thousands of hours of work by designers and others, they can be expensive. As with any creative property (like photos, illustrations, songs etc) it's our job as designers to reward hard work by purchasing typefaces as opposed to illegally downloading them. Many sites allow you to 'test' a typeface by inputting your own words online, to which it outputs a low resolution preview for your temporary use.

Some typefaces are truly free in that you can legally download them for no cost. But beware that some of these may not be designed to the same level of quality as others.

It helps to do historical research to discover where and when a typeface was created, how it has been used by others, and if it is directly associated with cultural movements or even companies. In some instances, for better or worse, a typeface may be linked to historical events because of its origin. For example a typeface called Arnold Boecklin Std Regular is inextricably linked to the Art Nouveau movement of the early 20th Century, when it was created. It then experienced a renaissance of popularity in the psychedelic era of the 1960's. Events like these should be considered when choosing any typeface today. Your audience may associate a typeface with something completely different than you intended.
Choose a Typeface
So you've been search the pages and pages of websites, or even books of typefaces. You've found a few you like.

• As mentioned, use a site's type tester, if offered, to set the name of your exhibit. You can often save a 'comp' of that type image to your computer to use in a mockup only.

• Seeing the name in the typeface will help you decide if it is right.

• Again, who is the audience and what is the content, including the imagery you've created? The type should work together with all these factors.

In many instances you will end up using multiple weights of a typeface or even using multiple typefaces—perhaps a serif and a sans serif together. Changing typefaces is a powerful tool for indicating a change in content and directing the readers eye to certain places creating a hierarchy of information.

• Purchase and download the typeface(s) you'd like to work with. They'll need to be put in a 'Fonts' folder on your hard drive.

In some instances designers end up creating their own typefaces for projects. This can of course be very fun and time consuming. But if you are interested, you can also consider drawing your type by hand. Just note that hand drawn type can have connotations that come with it. For example, maybe you've seen a lot of hand drawn type on posters at a holistic grocery store. Connotations like these should support, not compete with, your overall concept.
Create a Typographic Hierarchy
Your content is known, typefaces chosen, and you are ready to lay everything out. Ask yourself, what are the most important words from our list of content? Maybe the title of the exhibit? It really depends on your overall vision for the poster. In general here are some techniques you can use to create a hierarchy:

• Scale. Change the size of the type. Large to small? Small to large? Varied? Remember the Sundance example by Venezky.

• Color. Use color to organize and highlight certain content, words, or even down to letters. Remember the Great British Food (Eat It) poster by Luffman.

• Spacing. By grouping certain items you can create associations. For example, if your exhibit has a sub-title you can group that with the title to create a small narrative.

• Leading. This refers to changing the spacing in between lines of type. By increasing or decreasing this spacing you can begin to alter the way the type is read.

• Tracking. This refers to changing the spacing in between individual letters within a word. By increasing or 'opening up' the tracking in a word you can draw attention to it.

There are many other techniques for creating hierarchy. To me, this is where I have some of the most fun and feel most creative. Don't be afraid to experiment, test legibility, or propose a new way of reading.

Composing a Poster

Combine Elements
At this point you'll have images, be they photographic, illustrative or otherwise. And you'll have your content set in your typefaces of choice with a clear hierarchy of information. It's time to combine it all. Consider the following.

• How do your image and type interact with each other? Is one overlaid on the other? Is the type surrounding the subject of the image? Remember the Printemps poster by Graphic Thought Facility.

• If you are overlaying type on top of image, can you still read what it says? If not, consider changing the color of the type or trying a new composition which fits the natural lights and darks of your image.

In some instances you may need to make changes to image or type in order to create a compelling and informative composition. It is okay to have to take a step back, try another tyepface, or even image. This is all part of the iterative process of design. Cheers.
Finishing Up
Thank you for enrolling in this class! I do hope you've found it informative and that it opens new doors for you to explore. I look forward to seeing what you create! Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have questions.

Additional Resources

Christina Steward

Designing with a fire in my spirit.

1

2