Assignment: “Design a 12 X 18 poster with the following quote: It’s not what you look at that matters, it‘s what you see. – Henry David Thoreau

The quote must appear on the poster. You may do anything you like for illustration, photography, media, etc. Print scale to fit on a 12” x 18” paper for critique next week. You will also need to place your file as a .jpg in my drop folder. It should be 240 dpi and named as follows: Poster1_YourLastName.jpg Bring in your digital files of this poster for next week’s class.”

I am not quite sure where to go with this. I brainstormed and put out some thumbnails but didn’t feel like anything was truly original. Here’s an attempt. After finishing, I realized I want to think about it some more. I like the idea of doing something wild, but I don’t think this is it. I am going to let my ideas cook a little more.

Update 1-10-13: I think that this is kind of a difficult assignment because the quote’s so generic. I decided to make it biographical and put a picture of Thoreau (and get the quote right).

Update 1-11-13: After critique, after Jill saying that I needed to integrate the type and the image more (and that the type has the “emotional hook”), Jill added more copy to the poster. It’s now an event poster for a think tank. Here’s the extra copy: “What You See is a think tank from New York that does experimental research on new ways of thinking and the power of the imagination.  What You See has generated a critical mass of creative people in many different fields, for whom it‘s been a catalyst for experimentation and innovation. Seattle chapter forming, January 27, 2013, 7:00 pm, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104-1109. Member application required. Curious? whatyousee.com 206-733-9608.”

She encouraged us to read an excerpt from Typographic Systems of Design: Kimberly Elam and then sketch out potential solutions for the new copy integrating with the poster.