Design

Poster Bored?

This timeless medium is still relevant and vital.

Published

3 years ago

December 15, 2020

Jeff Russ Signs of the Times December 2020 Issue

IN TODAY’S DIGITAL age, many designers reflexively consider posters to be a lost art, an anachronistic remnant of the industrial age and certainly not a part of today’s interconnected information-based society. You can’t blame them, though. The modern era of instant info, with its targeted ads, begs the question: Why go through the trouble of printing ads on paper and hanging them around town, when you can easily push mini-versions of the same ads directly into customer’s phones, and by extension, their eyes?

Because posters, when done correctly, are singularly effective. The larger format enables a richer, detailed and more eye-catching message. Posters create a tangible sense of excitement that pop-up ads just can’t match.

As with all things sign-related, it comes down to proper design. Does the graphic convey the message and catch attention? If so, the poster can embed itself in the viewer’s memory in ways that no email attachment ever could.

Poster design offers a lot of room for creative expression. When designing a poster, push your limits, flex your talent and remember to have fun. This approach will propel the medium’s relevance through this century and beyond. As with everything else in life, the only limit is your imagination.

PHOTO GALLERY (4 IMAGES)

Such was the case in downtown Cincinnati when the city hosted Major League Baseball’s 2015 All-Star Game.

American cities don’t have embedded poster infrastructure, such as the ubiquitous backlit kiosks of Europe, but a little creativity, and a lot of posters, can transform any urban setting.

Music posters have tempted concert-goers to attend shows for decades. Design by Yee-Haw Industries.

The designs by Yee-Haw Industries (above) and Neltner Small Batch demonstrate the diversity of poster design.

Jeff Russ

Jeff Russ is a content studio manager for SmartWork Media and was the senior art director of Signs of the Times from 1996-2021. A graphic designer and illustrator with an interest in sign design and sign history, Jeff documents important, interesting and notable design trends in the sign industry as a contributor to Signs of the Times. He has written dozens of features for Signs, and his column, Design Matters, was published for more than a decade.

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