I like to think I can pick out good design. Like I have some instinctual sense for what works visually, and this will, in turn, reflect the value of the product I’m about to consume. I’m probably just kidding myself, but of the books and movies I’ve judged based on their cover art, most of them turned out to be pretty decent.
Most.
Complete. Waste. Of time.
A great movie poster should peak your interest and make you look twice. It’s supposed to pull you in, make to want to cross the street to see the film. This has always been the case, but it may surprise many readers to know that poster design has changed a great deal since the dawn of film.
A Brief History of Movie Posters
Movie posters developed not out of theatre posters, but print adverts for the circus. Like the circus posters, early movie posters were colourful, striking, and lurid—designed to catch the eye of passersby.
Wrote a poster designer in 1914: "It is evident that the mission of the poster is to attract people. The poster must bring the people across the street. Secondly, having gotten them there, you must tell them, in as few words as possible what they will see when they get inside. You must excite their curiosity sufficiently to make them part with their [money]. Thirdly, you must appeal to their artistic sense…"
