Minimalism

Minimalism in graphic design can be defined as using the simplest design, with the least number of elements required to communicate a message. Simple tools, simple message.

We started by listing all the positive imagery that McDonalds conjures up:

Golden Arches

Ronald McDonald

McFlurry

Milkshake

Red and yellow

Happy Meal

I'm lovin' it

Etc

We then pared this list down to the items which were exclusively McDonalds, and would be instantly recognizable. Perhaps only the yellow McDonalds M, Ronald McDonald and I'm lovin' it. However when two of these elements are combinded, McDonalds would certainly be signified, for instance, combining a milkshake with a straw and the colours red and yellow. This means somethings to a very wide audience, and in the case of McDonalds, to most of the world. This is so, because the McDonalds products are entrenched in our cultural mythology. 

Sometimes, words alone can be enough. It's all about the audience.

Research

We looked at film posters and book covers created in the minimalist style. 

Memoirs of a Geisha is so successful because it relies really on just one element, the red lips.

http://nelos.deviantart.com/art/Minimalist-Movie-Poster-Memories-of-a-Geisha-286229348

I really like this Titanic poster for its simplicity. The placement of the liner in front of the negative space of the iceberg works very effectively. Their relatively small size on the poster infers how small humans are when nature decides to strike. Titanic in large type represents the enormity of the event.

https://francescoturla.wordpress.com/category/minimal-movie-poster-collection/

My work

I chose to design posters for the TV series Outlander as it has some imagery in it which, when paired, would signify Outlander to those who has seen the series, or viewed trailers. 

I listed the obvious images from the series:

Tartan

The stones

Medicine

200 lashes - scarred back

Scotland

The Laird's deformed legs

I decided that combining a quote from the series, together with tartan and another graphic element would work well.

I created the tartan by making a pattern from the swatch on a tartan manufacturer's website:
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/outlander-products/outlander-tartans/.This is combined with a simplistic representation of the standing stones which are constantly referenced in the series.

I think this poster works well, as the words and tartan represent a Scottish origin, and the standing stones would be recognised by a fan of the series. The type was placed in short lines in large type as a reflection of the simple statement that the words represent. The sentiment is firm and non-debatable.

I don't think this poster works as well. The red was meant to represent blood on Jamie's back after being inflicted with 200 lashes. I don't think it works though. I spent some time trying to improve it, and swapped the tartan for a skin coloured background but didn't feel this worked either.

The above poster is my final design, and one which, when I sketched the thumbnails, I thought would be the least successful. However, I actually think it works the best. Anyone who has seen the series would recognise the Laird's legs, inflicted with Toulouse Lautrec syndrome. The tartan legs, cut off at the top of the page look like he is walking menacingly across a darkened room, and the writing in red communicates a sinister feel. I wrote in a small point size as the words are spoken softly, but menacingly. The black negative space is another element that makes this poster work well. It adds to the drama.

The typeface chosen for all the posters was a celtic one, which I thought trod the line between stylistic aesthetics and legibility well. The words are obviously Scottish so the tartan could be overkill, except patten has the immediacy that words do not.