Poster Power

In this final task, we are required to produce a poster to advertise a food establishment. Following on from the poster research task, I will be using some of the techniques and the design elements to create my own. Our posters could be for a café, a restaurant, a pub or a bakery. Since my ideas have been more about bakery, I will be creating my own bakery establishment which will be consistent in my posters. I think I will be using only 1 image in the design because according to my research, that's the technique that has been used frequently. I would also use typography that I think would link well with the image. As I've mentioned too, my posters will be going for that simplistic look so the main focus will be on the image but I will still be considering about using the right typography to suit my design.

Here are some of my poster draughts:

Sketches

When I was designing my posters, I already knew the images I was going to use from my 'Food for Thought' task so I was sketching these while looking at my images. I am confident that I will be able to create the posters the way I envision it. No 1 is of the image of the strawberry tart that I liked. I think this would be good for a poster because of it's shallow depth of field. No 2 is the sausages that had the oil bubbles on it. I picked this for the same reason as No 1. No 3 is the chocolate brownies image that I wrote about. This is a horizontal image but I will try crop it in a vertical format so it's focused closely on the brownie texture. And Lastly, No 4 is the image of the raspberry tart I wrote about with the white space. I will try and make this poster in a horizontal format to show the difference in format.

As soon as I knew what my poster would look like through my envisions, I started working on them immediately on Photoshop. I knew that I wanted to put effort in to them so I got cracking straight away because I thought it would take up some time, especially whilst planning and conducting to create 4 posters too. I actually enjoyed this process of the unit because I could actually get into designing and I quite like that.

After a few couple of hours, I have my 4 final posters. So here goes.

Printed Version

Cross-Cultural Version

This is my first poster. Using my sketch as a guide, I've pretty much followed it except a few placements. I've change where the social network link is to the opposite side because it's better sitting on the foil then having it the strawberry. Also switched the price to the other side because it nicely sit's near the main tart so the tag can draw our attention in that area. I've kept the logo at the top in the centre and slightly lowered the title than where it should have been because it's just above our main focused tart. As you see, I've used this strawberry tart image which is also non-edited as my background. This has worked nicely because it does really have a strong focus on a specific point rather than having the full image in focus. I've then created a logo which is actually separate layers with text in between and the layout extracted from a clip art, and I intend to use throughout my posters for my bakery themed images. Now using the website 'dafont.com' which I've used throughout for each poster, I've used typography considerately to make up all the text I've used. In this specific poster, I used this amazing font for the 'strawberry tart' that has lots of speckles and sparkles which I thought really worked well. Using the blending option, I've added an red outer glow so it's red and white linking to the strawberries and cream. For the social network link and the text above the title, I've used white with a black outer shadow so it gives it a little bit of edge. Whilst I was designing this, I've changed the logo colour a couple of times because I couldn't figure out what would work best. I selected this dark brown but it would be too dark so then I used the colour picker and selected the light colour from the pastry. This is actually inspired from my poster research where they've linked the colours to their food for example the subway poster with the meat coloured text. I've added this price tag using this paper design because I think it works nicely with all the browns in the image. In terms of contact details, I've only put an Instagram link because it's quite contemporary and keeps it simple. My main inspiration for this poster is the flirt poster of the cookie crumble milkshake that I've analysed on because of it's simplicity. This is where the arrangement influences came from and I'm actually content with the outcome. 

Along with a standard poster, I've made another edition including the halal sign in Arabic just to add some of that cross-cultural element to it. Even though it's in Arabic, it's actually understood quite clearly to Muslims that this is a halal sign so there's not a worry that it's not really written in English. This would just ensure and clarify that the food is halal for Muslims so it would attract to us. I don't think that a halal sign really does have a huge impact on the design in most cases. I mean I demonstrated this with using the same design. But like I've shown in my research, I understand when they might clarify what country the product is produced in. I think if a poster might not have a halal sign then it's a different story where Muslims would question if it's okay to eat it depending on what it is of course so that might make an impact on some posters. Nevertheless, I am very pleased with this poster because I've used an good image, considered the typography, and applied design principles like the price, the product name and an creative logo of a swirly cupcake.

'Sizzles'

This is my second poster. I've made a few adjustments so it's just a little bit different from my first one. So I've decided to put the social links to the top so it's not really near my main focus which is the sausages. I've also decided to include a phone number because it suits the animated sausage on my logo. I've also decided not to really give it a title and just have the logo as the main feature with some additional text which is like a slogan that says 'the best in town'. I've selected a curly font for that phase because I like how that contrasts with the contemporary type of font I've used and this curly one gives it a bit more tradition especially when we're talking about it being the best in town, it needs to show that it's quite olden and historical and by using an old style of font, I believe it really portrays that. I've also inserted text which says 'opening soon' to show that it's a new establishment. In terms of typography, I've selected to use these fonts because I like the bold and distinctive look. The logo has a spaced out text and I think that makes it stand out. I've placed the logo where it is because it's sitting on top of the blurred bits of the image so it stands out quite a lot. Along with the typography, I've actually added this sausage skew animation on to the logo to give it this nice design principal that links the title to the image. The lines above the word sizzles is actually me applying the design from the subway poster that similar lines on their typography. Overall, I like how simplistic this poster looks and it's pretty contemporary with the design style.

'Chocolate Brownies'

Dafont.com

Photoshop - Working with multiple layers

This is my third poster. I've completely rearranged the design from the way I sketched it. That's because as I was designing, it just looked better to put things in place in a considerate way. So far I've moved the logo to the top right instead of the centre because so far it's been in the middle in my other posters. Then put the Instagram link opposite it instead of the bottom to hide some of that excess background in the image. Added the title in the middle because it correlates with the image and it's on the most sharpest bit, but this was initially nearer to the bottom if you have a look at that Photoshop screenshot. Lastly, I've placed the price on the bottom instead of near the centre because I didn't want to block the picture.

With the typography, I believe that has been done really well. I've used the website 'dafont.com' as shown in the screenshot and selected these fonts. It's actually a long process that I had to conduct for all my posters because I have to screenshot the text then paste it on to Photoshop. Once that is done, you have to use the magic background eraser and erase all the white background so you're left with the text. Then you drag it on to your poster and then use the blending options and colour overlay to change the colour you want and add any effects. In this poster, I've selected this bold and chunky font which I thought really would work with my brownies. Then used the colour picker and selected the bright sponge colour so that the design of the text would link to the image. I've also added some drop shadows to give it some depth and then placed the word 'Brownies' over 'Chocolate' so you can see that distinctively. I think that little use of over-placing just makes the typography stand out and gives it a chunky theme. I've also added a limited edition text under the title because it's a design principal that is used is some advertisements. I've decided to stick to one colour with the text because I feel like it keeps the parts of the poster relevant to each other so nothing has more importance and has to stand out except the logo text which is not really included. If you have a look at the Photoshop screenshot, you can see that I've been working with many layers and most of the layers has a form of blending options used such as the drop shadow or the colour overlay so they tend to have a layer style. One of the reasons I really like this poster which is different to the others is the fact that it's captured so closely that the brownies are just filling the frame. 

Last but not least is my final poster. I've decided to use this image because I liked the image itself and the white areas. I didn't really edit the image at all so it looks very natural. In this poster, I stuck to the plan of where I'll place the design principles because it works. I've decided to do this poster especially as it is a horizontal picture which is different to my other ones.

Logo
I've actually used the same logo as my strawberry tart and brownies editions but decided to change the colour and match it more for this individual poster. In this case was this purplish berry tone. This was inspired by the ieat poster that I've analysed. I decided to keep it in the bottom corner because it's white spaces so it would have instantly stood out. On the opposite is the Instagram username which I think works nicely next to the logo. What I've done differently this time is add a rectangular shape behind the Instagram details and have that box the same colour as the logo so it all correlates. I think that little box does actually make it look a little nicer because of the white spaces and it's just bringing some relevant colour in.  

Typography
As you can see from the collection of posters, I've been contemplating on the typography I should use for the word 'NEW'. I felt like the first two were't quite working with the whole bubbly but distinctive look. However, I stuck with the last one because I felt like it was the most suiting and it works amazingly with the title. With the title, I decided to use this bubbly font because to me, it works with the raspberry concept and I just loved the look of it. I've also selected the colour from the actual dessert and made that connection. The colour for 'new' is picked from the pastry so that works too as it contrasts with the title. I think the inspiration from the 'new' typography is from the pizza hut poster that I've analysed on where they've used this lightbulb looking font which is instantly saying look at me.  

Overall I am very pleased with my posters. I think they are very contemporary and they stand out pretty well. I've considered so much aspects in order to get a successful poster and especially when I've applied design principles in to my own design development. I went for the simplistic, natural and that minimalistic look and I think this gives a great aesthetic theme of modern or contemporary style of food. My posters turned out to be vibrant and colourful which covers one of the main element I've touched upon when I researched on food photography.