Theatre Posters- AUB Commissions

This academic year I have made work for two AUB Theatre productions. These are my first established commissions to be undertaken. Both were a large learning curve to understand how to respond to a clients brief and their critical feedback. Looking back the posters are very different in their aesthetic and I don't think an audience would recognise that they had both been designed by myself if they were placed together. Obviously it was important that I encompassed the different needs for each production, however it is important to start creating consistent work that clearly demonstrates what my practice is about and avoid confusion.

 

Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill was the first poster I was commissioned to design. Despite my previous exploration with paper art and photography, I decided to approach the poster design with traditional mediums, looking back I probably wouldn't have used such traditional techniques. My focus was put too much on the illustrated woman in the centre of the poster than the full design of the poster, therefore everything else became secondary to the main image. Compared to the poster I did later for Persuasion, It is unclear that the poster is advertising a theatre production at all. The main issue I can identify is the combination of image and text hasn't quite worked. They seem to clash, which was not my intention. I need to be more aware of the image/text relationship, especially if I intend to work in an advertising/marketing environment. In the Persuasion poster, I feel that the main typography fits better with the imagery, however I know that I was rushed for time with the typography and think this shows in the presentation of the poster. Its not as clear as I would like it to be. Also the mix match of the typefaces is an issue for me. It was a decision made with the client, therefore it should be accepted but in the future I would rather research or render my own text to use throughout. On a positive note, I was much happier with the final Persuasion poster. The colour palette of just three colours works well and makes it punchy and stand out. The image looks crisp and despite working in separate layers, I do not think there is much attention drawn to the fact it is paper cut work. There is definite room for improvement, I'd much rather find a method to approach poster art work with some analogue but also crispness. I feel the Persuasion poster still lacks performance. This is a passion of mine which I feel does not yet come through in my own practice.