Key Skills (Leaving Cert Art): Model Answers

Appreciation of Art

Sample Essay: Poster Imagery & Design

Strong, visual imagery in the design of a poster is vital to successful marketing, attracting attention, communicating information and swaying the target audience into action. Discuss this statement referring to imagery, layout, typography, colour and message

And

Briefly outline your visual concepts for a poster design to advertise a sport or music event of your choice

I agree that strong, visual imagery in a poster is vital for many things such as successful marketing, attracting attention, communicating information and swaying the target audience. The poster I will refer to in my answer is one used to advertise and promote the film 'Jaws'. 'Jaws' is a well known, iconic film, which was originally released in the 1970's. It is still extremely well known by many different age ranges and generations today. 'Jaws' was directed by Stephen Spielberg, who is one of the most famous and most recognisable names in the film industry.

Imagery and Layout

The poster represents a shark attack, with an image of a shark in the bottom half of the composition looking towards it's prey. The prey in question is a woman above him. It is clear that the woman is unaware of the danger she faces as she continues swimming calmly. The woman also appears to be naked which could suggest her vulnerability. Alongside this, the sizes of both of the characters reinforce the predator/prey relationship, with the shark being much larger than the woman. The layout and imagery is relatively simple in order to engage the audience. The image is also set in the sea. The artist could have purposely designed it to be this way as a predator would have more power in it's natural habitat. Another important feature of the image is the shark's viciously sharp teeth, which again reminds the audience of the shark's strength and the likely outcome of the depicted scene.

Colour

There is a minimal but clever use of colour in this poster. The three main colours are blue, white and red. The top section of the composition is purely white and features red texts which contrast dramatically. This immediately draws the viewers attention to the title of the film. 'Jaws' is red in colour which could also symbolise the bloody death of the swimmer which will soon come. Red is particularly connected to horror films. Therefore, the use of this colour also suggests the genre of the film. Due to the simplicity of the white background, the viewer's eye is then drawn down to the centre and bottom half of the composition. This features a blue/grey coloured shark in a blue sea. The fact that both of these colours are similar gives the impression of the shark being camouflaged in the water. I feel this portrays the element of surprise, which makes the poster more sinister.

Layout & Font

The title is large and bold which immediately draws the viewers attention to it. The red font makes the text stand out. This is also achieved by mounting the text onto a white background. The font is also in thick, capital letters which adds to the suspense and drama of the image. The title is very clear and obvious for the audience which is key to successful marketing and attracting attention. As previously discussed, the red colour symbolises blood and horror which gives an explicit hint to the film's context. There is no official tag line apart from the text above the title which states that the film is a "terrifying motion picture from the terrifying No. 1 Bestseller". The term 'bestseller' suggests a good plot that was thoroughly enjoyed. This makes the film more attractive to the audience and would be an effective way to sway them into seeing the film.

My Design

I have several visual concepts for a poster design to advertise a music festival. My target audience would be late teens and young adults - ranging from between 16-25 years of age. Because of this, I would opt for very eye catching colours such as yellow, pink and cyan. The name of the festival would be situated at the top of the poster in a large, bold font so that it is clearly visible. I think white would be an ideal font colour choice as it would contrast nicely with the colours I have previously mentioned. The days/dates and location of the festival would also be added in a large font also be added to a large title to inform the target audience of when and where the festival will take place. As well as this, I would put the biggest and most popular artists into a large font, with lesser known acts in a smaller font. In regards to imagery, I feel a photo of youths dancing to a previous festival would be very effective as it gives the impression of a fun experience. I think all of these factors combined would successfully sway my target audience into attending this festival.