Minimalist Art Film Poster
Researching Artists who's work is considered minimalist.
I looked at Artists such as Saul Bass and Rodchenko to research and get inspiration for the minimalist poster we had to make.
Saul Bass
Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and a award winning filmmaker born in 1920 in New York City. He was considered the most accomplished graphic designer in history in the mid 20th Century when design was on the upswing. He was best known for his simple, iconic and striking title sequences, movie posters and logos. Saul Bass' most reconsigned and famous works are his movie posters for very well known Film Director and Producer Alfred Hitchcock. Saul Bass made and designed posters for many other very successful films and his designs are still admired and very recognisable today. Some of his minimalist posters for the films 'The Shining' , 'Vertigo', 'West Side Story' and 'The Exodus' went on to be known as some of the most important posters in design.
In the 1940s, Bass left New York for California. He then had only worked mostly in advertising until his first major break in the design industry, a poster for the 1954 film, Carmen Jones. The filmmakers were so impressed by his poster work, they invited him to design the title credits also something Saul Bass went on to be renowned and recognised for. This turned out to be a game changing decision for Saul Bass as he would go on to be one of the most influential in the movie design industry.
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Bass stepped up the sophistication of movie posters with his distinctive and recognisable minimal style.
Saul Bass completely changed and revolutionised the role of title credits in the beginning and end of films. Traditionally in those days all film credits were static and dull. They were considered so unimportant and useless, they would actually be projected onto the closed curtains in cinemas which would only open for the movie then close before the end titles. Bass, however, was committed to injecting life into these graphics that no one cared about, making them a normal and important part of the cinematic experience. Introducing his signature and iconic “kinetic type,” Bass’ letters unlike ever done before dashed and moved across the screen and frequently incorporated images other than text which had never been done but were so use to today.
Titles became a spectacle to be seen before and after a movie. Bass changed Film forever and films he had made with Bass credits were delivered to movie theatres along with a note attached: “projectionist – pull curtain before titles.
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His work still inspires the design and movie industry and is what we are all use to when we go to see a film today. Saul Bass will always be known as the best minimalist designer who changed film design forever.
Examples of how Saul Bass Changed movie credits and titles.
These credit scenes show how titles and credits changed so much from just a dull and boring white writing going from the bottom of the page to the top. Saul Bass changed the cinema and film experience in a interesting and clever way with his designs.
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Saul Bass Logos
Saul Bass logos where so good the average lifespan of a Saul Bass logo is an unbelievable 34 years. Some of his work has still not been replaced.
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Saul Bass most famous Logos are the likes of Kose Cosmetics (1959), Kibun (1964), Warner Communications (1972), Girl Scouts (1978, with a slight modification to the colour made in 2010) and Geffen Records (1980). With designs as simple, thoughtful and brilliant as these, they might never have to be replaced.
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Rodchenko
Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko was a Russian artist, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer. He was one of the founders of constructivism and Russian design.
Rodchenko was considered as one of the founders of the movement known as Constructivism Art.
What is Constructivism Art?
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Constructivism Art was one of the 20th century’s most influential movements considered an attack on art. In 1922, a Russian artist named Aleksei Gan made a manifesto that began with words in glaring uppercase: “WE DECLARE UNCOMPROMISING WAR ON ART!” The Russian Revolution had taken place five years earlier, in 1917. The country was in the process of freeing itself from the grips of a powerful ruling elite; now it would revolutionize Russia’s cultural life, too, and put art to work in service of a new, Communist society.
A new art form and mode of making art to serve the masses. Art, they believed, had no place in the hermetic space of the artist’s studio. Instead, it should reflect the modern, industrial world; be formulated in laboratories and factories; and be deployed as an active agent in the broader Communist revolution. Together, the Constructivists would seek “to find the Communist expression of material construction,” Gan wrote, “to establish a scientific base for the approach to constructing buildings and services that would fulfill the demands of Communist culture.”
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Rodchenko's best known work in this time was the famous poster made in 1924 showing a woman shouting 'Books'.
Mondrian
Piet Mondrianwas a Dutch painter and theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being one of the pioneers of 20th century abstract art, as he changed his artistic direction from figurative painting to an increasingly abstract style, until he reached a point where his artistic vocabulary was reduced to simple geometric elements
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His most well known work came at the end of World War 1 in 1918 where he returned to France and started producing his grid based work that he became renowned for.
MODERN MINIMALIST DESIGN
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BEAU BERTENS
Beau Bertens is a modern minimalist independent graphic designer from the Netherlands who encourages a sophisticated, pared down dialogue between content and form. With work ranging from books and magazines to websites and identities, Beau’s approach is conceptual, frequently monochrome and focused on considered typography, allowing these elements a balanced playfield in which content shines through.
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Collaborating across disciplines is also part of the designer’s message together with textile designer Eline Ceelen, Bertens developed a series of wearable designs called OCTA, born from experimentation and refined along with the process. We’re also intrigued by Beau Bertens’ minimalist photography, where colour and shape create striking compositions that feel like part of a haunting narrative.
I really like how minimalist and clean Bertens work looks and for my magazine cover I'm defiantly going to do a similar inspired design
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LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LOGO
The London Symphony Orchestra logo is an example of minimalist art and graphic design.
Designed to give the Orchestra a new look in a simple and minimalist way.
The letters all connected stands out and does give an idea of what they are
about as the colour of text and style of font is similar to musical letters for
example its very similar to a treble clef as its swirly and musical like.
The minimalist look decently works with this logo and gives the
orchestra a nice simple look and shows its musical.
Comparing Film Posters to Minimalist Film Posters
Here is an example of a Film Poster transformed into a minimalist design. I specifically chose this poster as I like this design as the meaning of the image combined with the minimalist look comes together really well .
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Superhero Movie Posters becoming Minimalist.
These are some examples of minimalist superhero movie posters.
For my final poster I wanted to design The Joker movie poster in a minimalist design.
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JOKER - FILM POSTERS
This is the main Joker Movie Poster.
This is the film poster I'm going to recreate in a simple and minimalist way.
I want to change a lot and make it much more minimalist with the inspiration of several artists from my research.
The main Idea I have is rather then showing too much of the actual film itself ie actual images from the film like the current poster does, like the examples above, I want to use a graphic image for example a Joker card from a pack off cards as you will instantly think of the word Joker rather than having to read it. The idea was partly from the Superman minimalist poster above. Also when you hear the work Joker, as well as a clown, the Joker from a pack of cards, comes to my mind.
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I then looked at some of the other Joker poster designs. I did like some other designs other creators had made with the meaning of the Arthurs personality with the idea of a good and the Joker side of him coming out. I did consider doing a similar sort of style for my final poster.
JOKER - CLOSE UP FILM POSTERS
I really liked the close up posters as it showed with such detail of the character. They also have more of a minimalist style and effect to them. This was a reason I considered this sort of poster.
I really did like the simple close up posters but wanted more of a meaning behind them. This is why I started looking at posters that really got across the point of the character.
JOKER - ART FILM POSTERS
I loved all of these ideas with the use of colours and images bringing the film to life in a poster however I felt they did not create the minimalist feel I wanted.
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This research has helped me gather inspiration and given me a better idea of how I can create a film poster in a minimalist style that captures the meaning of the film.