This unit I learned about poster design. The main three things that I learned that I incorporated into my poster, were K.I.S.S., The Rule of Alignment/Proximity and The Rule of Contrast. K.I.S.S., stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. This rule follows the principle that simple posters can communicate messages simply. They do this be being clean and concise, and have large letters that are easily readable. Also the words these letters spell are simple and catchy, they are designed to be absorbed without having to concentrate. The Rule of Alignment, states that for a poster to have proper "flow", all the photos and/ or texts must be aligned to each other in some relation. This usually means aligning the first letters vertically, or aligning the texts horizontally. It can also means aligning a picture horizontally with a text, or vertically. While the Rule of Proximity states, that if you have two texts, one at the top of the page, and one at the bottom. Both texts must be equal distances from the border. Also the Rule of Proximity keeps a picture from falling off the edge, or from interfering with the text. Finally, I used the Rule of Contrast in my posters. The Rule of Contrast, simply, makes images and words, more powerful by giving them greater contrast. This is usually done by a bright or coloured background, with a dark or black text/image. When something is put into the correct contrast, it can make a picture seem more imposing or powerful. It also gives the poster much more power and awe.
When it came to actually putting my poster together the first step was, design. As instructed by Mr. Holmes, I had to create a base template. For my base, I decided to put a single color background. The colour I chose was the Stonehill burgundy. The reason for this choice was so that the school would have no problem with putting the posters around the school, also the color fit my requirements for contrast (it wasn't so bright that it hurt your eyes, and but bright enough so that black letters would create sufficient contrast). So once the color was put down I had to choose where, and how much text to put down. In the end I decided on a large 'title' text, at the top of the page, and a 'sub-heading' at the bottom of the page. With this I had a basic design, but it felt like there was a large void. To fix this problem I simply put decided that a photo, with large amounts of contrast would be needed to give the entire poster more power. With all this decided I had a simple design, now I had to pick the details. For the 'title' I put whichever IB learner profile the poster was supposed to depict. For the 'sub-heading' I put a simple and catchy phrase that described the profile. As for the photo, I looked through my photo library and chose a picture that fit the poster. (For risk-taker, a cutout from the opening credits to Casino Royale. For inquirer, a black and white stencil of Yuri Gagarin. For knowledgeable, a contrast photo of books.)
If we could do this project again, I would improve on three things. Firstly I would improve on the text. The text in these posters, though sufficient to get a message across, just didn't seem right for a poster of this style. Next time I would spend much more time looking for a proper font. Secondly I would find better images. In the 'knowledgeable' poster I felt that the photo didn't do the poster justice compared tot he other posters in the series. Thirdly, I would find something to do with the massive void in the center of each poster. Though to some the massive void gives the poster simplicity, to me it would show a higher skill level if I could find something to do with the void without ruining the structure of the poster.
