The Modern Poster

"I put together a group of books that a graphic designer could have on hand that would help them be inspired and also help them see how a range of people solve different problems and communicate different ideas. The poster similar to the book cover, which is really like a poster in the function it performs. It’s in some ways the ideal or aspirational product for a designer. I can only speak for myself—there are doubtless designers who prefer doing other sorts of work—but with poster design you have space to work with, you have colour, often not a lot of copy, and often there’s a very clear message that it is required to convey. For an event there may be important practical information that needs to be listed, but whatever the mandate, it is reductive and it’s an open-ended project. Just look at the variety of posters represented here. You can see that there are no limits. Whether you are designing a brand or a website or a brochure, I think that there’s much to be learned by looking at these examples of exquisite design, just to get your creative juices flowing. “When you’re talking to your client, really listen” At the end of the day, I appreciate well-written books about design , but for me, the visuals are key. Often I really just want to be able to look at some pictures, study the visuals, because I’m thinking of a problem that needs to be solved in a visual way. I don’t often want to get ‘trapped’ in words. Anyone who’s worked with a creative brief understands that people can come up with all sorts of solutions to a communication problem that sound logical and completely appropriate in writing. The minute you start designing a visual solution, however, you realise that the written version simply makes no sense. It doesn’t do the job it was written to do. I did try to provide books that if you wanted to, you could just flip through, and nonetheless learn so much if you do. By all means read, but first and foremost appreciate – take in the visual messages. When I started working in advertising and before I went into publishing, I was a cigarette smoker. That’s what designers did back way back then…. Me and Don Draper! When I felt creatively blocked I would go to have a cigarette outside—even then you were not allowed to smoke in the office. I’d bring one of these books with me and I’d sit in the stairwell of my building (which you weren’t supposed to smoke in either, as it happens). I would just sit in the stairwell with one of these books smoking, and I rarely got past half the cigarette. It was a combination of being outside of the studio environment and being by myself, but also looking at these images. And maybe a little bit of the nicotine. That combination was powerful, oh my goodness. I’d be stubbing out my cigarette to run back to the desk, because I’ve got work to do at the drafting table, and an idea to get it done! Smoking aside, I think it’s really important to listen. When you’re talking to your client and trying to gather the specifications for whatever project you are working on, really listen. Always observe. Keep up with what’s happening in the museums and movies and TV and music—and food, even. Know what’s going on in your culture. Then absolutely take time. Don’t expect it to happen all at once. Give yourself a few moments of mindfulness in the process to let the universe download some great ideas to use."