The power of posters
The humble poster is one of the oldest forms of visual communication, printed and designed to target passing audiences. Typically, visually striking and informative, they can take many forms and serve a variety of promotional purposes.
The modern poster dates back to the mid-19th century, at a time when the printing industry had started to perfect colour lithography, which then made mass production of print materials economically viable.
Government censorship of public spaces, which had previously limited public displays of any form, were lifted in countries such as France at this time and other European countries soon followed, which meant that the print poster slowly crept onto the streets and walls of cities and towns.
Print posters are a prominent feature in the majority of urban landscapes and are often seen attached to bland brick walls, recycling bins, lampposts or any other bit of spare space that is available. The streets that we walk along every day provide a large canvas for the promotion of anything from products, services and events to pleas for information about missing cats.
“The production of the magazine has collaboration and togetherness at the very heart of it, therefore this reflects how the posters have been designed in signifying the work of the students and their contributions to this new and exciting magazine“
This is why they are such a popular medium for designers and creatives, who seek to exploit these public spaces with eye-catching work which delivers key messages to thousands of passers-by. A well-placed, well-designed poster should immediately capture their attention, make them stop in their tracks, and be intrigued by its contents.
They will often be loud and bold in their appearance, and this is to ensure that they are able to stand out amongst the rest of the posters that jostle for the public’s attention, often stuck on top of each other or overlapping in those urban locations with plenty of footfall. It is therefore the role of any designer to take these conditions into consideration and include striking graphical and textural elements.
Yes of course, you will still get the occasional Neighbourhood Watch member contacting their local council to have posters removed, but nevertheless they do not harm anyone, nor do they offend the social landscape; in fact, they arguably bring colour, life and energy to otherwise blank and frankly dull spaces.
Even amidst the first UK national lockdown because of Coronavirus, the poster took on another significant role as thousands of households up and down the country took the step of producing one which displayed a rainbow and stuck it in their windows in support of NHS staff fighting the pandemic and other key workers keeping the country going in the toughest of times.
This different version of the poster, which were mostly created by young children, was symbolic in that it was a clear and obvious public display of gratitude. They also generated a sense of community spirit and a served as a reminder that we must pull together in difficult times. Key workers passing by on their way to work would surely have been moved and inspired to know that the whole country was behind them. Posters not only promote, but provide inspiration, spread kindness, awareness and entertain us.
The aim of the posters displayed below is to highlight the collaboration between the London College of Communication Industry Mentoring Programme and the students on LCC’s BA Magazine Journalism and Publishing course in the creation of a new magazine designed to showcase the scheme and encourage future graduates and industry creatives to get involved.
“At the heart of this collaboration is the London College of Communication”
Appropriately named WAY IN, the magazine reflects the role the programme plays in offering graduates the opportunity to be partnered with practitioners who can help their entry into the creative sector. The magazine contains various perspectives from both mentors and mentees who have been involved over the years and ultimately have benefited from it.
The posters have been designed to promote the mentoring programme, the students on the BA course and the soon to be completed magazine that will be distributed in UAL’s colleges and sent to creatives who are thinking about ‘giving something back’ to the next generation.
At the heart of this collaboration is the London College of Communication and so the prominent use of graphical shapes that are designed to represent the letters L.C.C. have been used in order to signify this. The university has a long and important history of working alongside, and being part of, the creative industries and it was important to reflect this in the design of these posters.
As always with any posters, vibrant colours have been used in order to stand out and showcase the collaboration. The use of typography is important in highlighting on the poster who have been involved in the creation of the magazine and hopefully goes some way in making those who see the posters aware of both the mentoring scheme and the BA course, perhaps prompting a search into either, to discover more information about them.
One of the posters also highlights all of the students from the course who have actively contributed to the contents within the magazine, by showing the titles and author of each individual piece. The production of the magazine has collaboration and togetherness at the very heart of it, therefore this reflects how the posters have been designed in signifying the work of the students and their contributions to this new and exciting magazine.