This was a personal project to design a series of three posters to advertise the Queanbeyan Printing Museum.
The design for this 3 poster set was inspired by the Constructivist style of El Lissitsky. I love the simplicity of the black, white and red combination of colours, and the graphic nature of many of his posters and other designs.
My design began with the idea of using a large ampersand (&) from three different typefaces as the main element, and from there I incorporated the line drawings of printing presses and then added the red blocks.
The ampersand is a really strong graphic symbol and together with the red blocks and line drawings provides a strong graphic statement, which is well suited to a museum dedicated to remembering the old ways of producing prints, and the inventions that led to a revolution in printing.
The words “Step back in time” (&) “Explore the Past” are linked together with the ampersand, forming a call to action.
Behind the ampersand and the red rectangle is a line drawing of printing equipment. These line drawings were chosen for their round shapes and their numbers and lines pointing to various parts.
A silhouetted family is seen at the top of each red rectangle, underneath the call to action, putting the idea of a family day out in the mind of the consumer.
Like Lissitsky’s designs and other designers from the Russian Constructivist movement, these posters are as modern as they are old. It is fascinating to see the designs from nearly 100 years ago and to think that they could have been done in our modern times. Good design will always stand the test of time, and should never rely on trends, but on tried and tested design principles and sound ideals.
