Poster Design Summary

My Poster design is now complete as well. Like an image I posted in an earlier blog entry, this poster has a very typography-heavy approach to it. I haven't included any imagery at all, which I was orginally going to do. I was going to have my flyers focus on the more charitable aspects of the organisation, showing images of the vulnerable that Silent Cities aim to help, and the posters themselves were to focus more on the independent film makers that the concept of Silent Spaces is aimed at. As it stands, this may change & I might design a couple of additional posters that focus on this aspect. Another thing I will likely change is the copy included on the poster, sending a different message each time. I think I prefer the minimal, typographical approach to promoting Silent Spaces as the design looks cleaner & more professional. At the moment, I'm determined my poster design is finished, but it's highly likely I'll add to this line-up.

Poster Design

Flyer Design Summary

With my Silent Spaces flyers now complete, I can begin to evaluate the decisions I made, and reasons behind the design solutions I concluded with. These flyers first started life as posters, but as I began to include more & more copy, I realised these could only work as flyers due to the amount of text included. I had the idea that maybe they could be used as notice board posters instead of say adshells or billboards, but again, as reduced size posters, they just simply have too much copy on them. The information included is essential as it gives the majority of the information about the Silent Spaces concept, which people will need to know if they are to take part. So, I have opted to include a brief slogan on the poster, accompanied by links to the Silent Cities website & Facebook pages, while the flyers carry all the required info. As previously stated, these flyers will be displayed in places where the independent film maker target audience are likely to visit, such as the Showroom Cinema, Workstation, Sheffield University & SHU buildings, The Hubs & more. I'm really happy with the final design, especially the use of key words highlighted in the master brand colour orange & the overall layout. The only thing I think I would like to have changed is the differences between each flyer, such as a change of slogan or alternate copy etc, although I think the alternate image on each flyer works well, just not as well as an overall design change could have.

Flyer Designs

Effective Imagery

The most effective imagery I think I can use is images that evoke sadness. Since this promotional material is to rally people to the cause of Silent Cities & encourage them to contribute to the organisation, it is logical to use imagery that puts across a "We need you" message. Using faces with sympathy-provoking expressions & a desaturated lack of colour with hightened levels, giving a dramatic edge to the image.

Choosing Imagery

For my flyers or posters, I'd like to include some form of imagery that will rally people to the causes & plights of Silent Cities. Looking at the areas Silent Cities reach out to already, it seems more than ideal to feature imagery that will create sympathy above anything else. I had people in mind such as the homeless, elderly, disabled, hard of hearing, blind, disadvantaged children etc. These images I hope will add a level of depth & add something extra to the overall designs.

Cleaning things up

 Here is another attempt at a brief poster. Emphasis has once again been placed on the slogan, with the information copy edited yet again. I'm starting to change my mind about the stained paper background, especially on this reversed design with black/orange text & white background. I think this look works best as there is more focus on the type & the whole design doesn't feel as heavy as it did on black. With this design, the entire copy is in the Rockwell typeface, just to see how far I could push brand consistency. I think an overall use of Rockwell works, but needs something different thrown in to counter balance it & even out the design. I've also included the angled logo, which is something I wanted to use right from the start, and also adds an edge to the design rather than just sitting straight. I'm not sure whether this works with the straight copy though as the angles look awkward, but again, this is all something I can work on.

Adjusting Final preperations

As we get closer & closer to the completion of this project, it's time to decide what final outcomes will come of it. I'm focusing heavily on promotional material, but don't want to solely rely on posters. It is more than likely I will produce some form or another of flyer or leaflet, as well as hopefully pursue the use of online media such as Facebook & YouTube, setting up pages to promote the idea.

Alternate Approach

Here is one of my latest attempts at a poster design to promote the concept of Silent Spaces. Here, I have opted for an alternate colour scheme, incorporating the master brand colour of Orange. I've placed more emphasis on the slogan "a chance for independent film makers to get noticed" with more informative copy beneath. Once again, not all the final copy is in place, but this gives you a basic idea. I've also included icons for all the available online media where Silent Cities can be found. I've retained the gritty, stained paper sort of look in the background, which you see commonplace on many independent film maker-related material, this also adds a level of depth to the design I think, rather than having it sit on a generic black background. The information copy is set in the Rockwell typeface, matching the logo to keep some form of brand consistency. The variety of typefaces that the slogan is set in also adds depth in a similar way that the tainted background does as well.

Trying out Orange... Again!

In another attempt to incorporate Orange into my designs, I've tried looking at how the logo itself would look using the master brand colour. I'm still not convinced that this colour works, once in situ it may be a different story, but as a stand alone logo, it just doesn't work for me. It looks to bold & bright & way too focal. Yes, the logo should be prominent on whatever it is featured on, but it shouldn't look a mess while doing so. Perhaps this logo may work without the black stroke, which probably doesn't help matters, but I think this utilisation of Orange is going to be a major case of trial & error.

Utilising other Media outlets

Through the use of other media outlets, mainly online, such as social networking & video sharing websites such as Facebook & YouTube, the chance to further the Silent Cities/Silent Spaces concept becomes more apparent. In addition to printed promotion, I think I will attempt to create Facebook & YouTube pages that promote the ideas of the organisation, which also offers up a couple of extra design opportunities.

With Facebook, this acts as a type of forum where users of Silent Spaces can interact outside the "office." The YouTube channel could work as a way for the independent film makers who use the spaces to create the promotional videos for charities, to upload their work to be seen on the web. While these serve as a good idea, I think this will be something I pursue once my printed media is complete, so that I have an overall look which I can incorporate onto these pages.

Trying out Orange...

While not the "official" master brand Pantone colour, this rough concept gives you an idea of how an alternate colour scheme could work. I fully intend to pursue the stained paper-like texture in the backgrounds of my posters, flyers etc, thus maintaining the Indie film maker feel. I've tried using the Silent Spaces logo in black, accompanied by a less vibrant orange background. I think the bolder orange makes the whole thing look a little tacky to be honest, so if needed, I will only include a small portion of this in my final design.

Colour Palettes

In regards to a colour palette that will be seen throughout my material for Silent Spaces, in my early concepts I went with a very light blue & grey colour scheme. I felt that with my target audience being independent film makers, the promotional material should take the form of a typical "gritty," almost run down sort of appearance, but I felt the use of blue empowered the logo, made it stand out & overall added a unique look to my early posters. After meetings with Paul Ward from the Workshop, and Justine from Silent Cities, they advised me to include the master brand colour somewhere in my designs. This colour is an Orange colour, which I was not keen on using to begin with, but depending on how free I can be with Orange as a whole, I may be able to improve it so that my designs look good utilising this colour.

Silent Spaces: The Logo

Here is the logo I intend to use throughout my Silent Cities/Silent Spaces promotional material. Although I, like many others do not have access to the required typeface, "Memphis," I have made the best out of a bad situation & used a practically identical typeface, "Rockwell." Aside from a few minor differences, this typeface is virtually the same. I've also filled the proverbial "space" in the logo as well, to tie in with the theme. I was a little dubious going into this project using a font like this, but after using it in early concepts, I'm fairly happy with it & think it works well.

Where to promote?

In order for my promotional material to reach it's target audience, it should be heavily featured where the desired demographic would be quite prominent, such as the Showroom Cinema, Workstation, Universities & Colleges, The Hubs, Internet Cafes & so on, places where creative minds usually tend to wander.

Posters would be displayed on walls, whilst flyers would be featured in the doorways of these places.

Initial Ideas: Poster Design Part Deux

The second attempt I made at promotional material for the Creative Spaces/Silent Spaces concept is mainly focused towards the charitable element of the concept, encouraging filmmakers to take part in the production of promotional videos whilst renting out the space. This is the direction I think I will take my promotional material, producing two or three posters to pull in punters to rent the space & another couple of posters to re-emphasize the charitable element.

To reinforce this, I included a sympathetic tagline & image on this poster variant, yet like with my first idea, still needs work in terms of copy & colour palette. I think I will need to create some form of flyer or something along those lines to really put across the entire concept itself as a poster doesn't really give me enough space, and no one would include that much copy on a poster anyway.

Initial Ideas: Poster Design

This is my first attempt at promotional material for the Creative Spaces concept. The first thing I wanted to do was create "Silent Spaces" which would run as sub-brand to Silent Cities itself, something that Justine Gaubert from Silent Cities was very keen on when presented with this idea. The Silent Spaces logo is identical to the Silent Cities master brand logo as to keep consistency throughout.

Mainly, it is my copy & imagery I intend to work on with these designs. My text needs to be exciting enough to draw people into renting these spaces & I feel the imagery needs to be something independent filmmakers can relate to. I will also work on the colour palette as there needs to be some sort of Orange presence in the promo material to emphasize Silent Cities itself.

Creative Spaces

I have chosen to explore the Creative Spaces brief provided by Silent Cities. This brief is aimed at enticing people, namely young upstarts & entrepeneurs, into renting out affordable desk & office space if they would rather work away from home, in a comfortable environment with like-minded people.

In an effort to make this concept sound more appealing, and to give it more of a gimmick or theme, I've decided to aim these creative spaces at young, independent filmmakers who wish to get their foot in the door. My promotional material will primarily be aimed at this audience, with some form of concept designed to pull in the punters.