8 “Nobody wants to commit themselves to

exploratory concepts or unfamiliar visuals unless

7
6
MOVIE collage of bad posters
they are proven solutions used elsewhere.”
- Graham Humphreys

TOM
HOLLAND
MICHAEL
KEATON
JON
FAVREAU ZENDAYA
MARISA
TOMEI
WITH
ROBERT
DOWNEY JR.
AND

5 POSTERS Look at these movie posters. Do any of them

stand out? Speak to you? Entice you to see the
film? If it seems like many of them blend
together, feel the same, or follow similar
TROPES
AND
SO, WHAT
IS GOING
Principles of Design Explained poster redesign
original
poster
poster redesign
original
poster

SUCK
trends, you’re not alone. There is a problem in
AEL GIACCHINOERMAN

WRONG?
JORDAN BY MICH

CLICHÉS
BY DAVE ERIC HAUS
SUPERVISED EL O’CONNOR STEVE DITKO
ER TYNE DALY PRODUCERS RACH STAN LEE AND SOMM ERS
DONALD GLOV TOTINO, ASC, AIC LEE COMIC BOOK BYCKENN ERIK
HOMECOMING’ PHY SALVATORE TOLMACH STAN M A
‘SPIDER-MAN: R SCHOLL PHOTOGRA ARAD MATT ER FORD CHRIS
RES PRODUCTION AN DESIGNER OLIVE Y LATCHAM AVI WATTS CHRISTOPH AMY PASCAL

Hollywood poster design. As you move along

ASCAL PICTU IE BERM JEREM Y JON FEIGE
EL STUDIOS/P TAL, ACE DEBB ICIA WHITCHER& JOHN FRANCIS DALE PRODUCERS KEVIN
TS A MARV EDITORS DAN LEBEN RIA ALONSO PATR STEIN
PICTURES PRESEN
K SIRRS VICTO THAN GOLD
COLUMBIAE FROGLEY SUPERVISOR JANES LOUIS D’ESPOSITOCIS DALEY SCREENPLAY JONA S
LOUIS BELL FRAN JON WATT
MITCH GOLDSTEIN & JOHN
PRODUCER
DIRECTO R
CARROLL JONA
DESIGNER

STORY BY
THAN

4
this wall, I will attempt to break down this
problem of boring, unoriginal posters and get
to the bottom of what exactly is going wrong.
Enjoy.

POSTER REDESIGNS
3
In order to enforce the idea that an understanding of semiotics and the design principles can allow for more
interesting designs in movie posters, I decided to take a crack at redesigning two bad posters for good movies.

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING HELL OR HIGH WATER

On the left is “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” The issues with the This was a poster that was not so much badly executed as it was

“Posters can often take on a life of their “[The Principles of Design] are considerations
original design of this poster were addressed in the interactive piece, conceptually uninteresting and uninformative. I wanted to better serve
“So What is Going Wrong?” earlier in the exhibit. As you can see in my the point of the story and play on the visual style and relevant images
redesign, I took into consideration the major theme of the film wherein present in the film.
protagonist Peter Parker must daily overcome his school responsibilities Oil plays a secretly very important role in the story of our
on top of his duties as the superhero, Spider-Man. This theme, as well protagonist, Tanner (Chris Pine). It essentially serves the role of
as the overall tone of the film, and any story elements, are totally “promised land” for Tanner—something he just needs to survive long
unapparent from the original poster. enough to get to, and then he’ll be safe. I wanted the poster to feel
I wanted to convey the feeling that his school problems loom over stained with oil, since it’s a subtle yet critical motivating factor beneath
him the same way his superhero ones do—a core element of the the intense and action-packed story. I included the faded imprint of the
conflict in the film. While Peter swings between school lockers and $100 bill to represent the more immediately recognizable motivator in
toting his backpack, the viewer can see his enemy, “The Vulture,” in the the story: money. I needed this poster to feel truly western. Truly dry

own beyond the product they sell.”

night sky. This highlights the duality of Peter’s conflicts. Additionally, I and beat-up and tired. The original poster failed to capture that.

that one would expect most designers to employ

wanted to create a sense of visual unity in the elements and structure of Ultimately, with this one, I wanted to test the capabilities of the often
the piece. The cascading buildings and lockers guide the eyes from the
misused photo-collage poster. I wanted to prove that you can show off
title to Spider-Man himself, to the lockers, to The Vulture in the sky, to your stars without forgetting to talk about the movie in the poster.
the cast billing along the top of the poster.

2 - designer/illustrator
Graham Humphreys with instinct.” - Graham Humphreys

1
(interactive tablet stand) (interactive tablet stand)