The design on this poster is very simple. This is because it was to put the message across to people simply. The lettering in this poster is clearly more important than the picture. The text is white bold on a red background. Most wartime posters used bold text, as this was an effective way for people to understand how important the messages were. The picture is simply just a foot digging a spade into the ground. The picture is a photograph. There isn’t much colour in this poster, only a red background.
The target audience for this poster I think is anyone who was able to plant their own food. I think this because during the war people were desperate for food clothing etc. so everyone capable of making life easier helped in any way.
The second poster I have chosen to write about is for The Different Drummer store designed by Peter Max.
This poster is very eye-catching; maybe this is because of the bright colours and the weird design used. As soon as I saw this poster I could tell that it was designed in the sixties from the colours used. Peter Max has used bright colours such as pink, blue, green, yellow and lots more! The design in the centre of this poster is very puzzling. It’s of a face, but the face doesn’t seem to have a head, instead there is a gap then a sort of wizard hat shape behind it. It faces sideways to the left and I’m not too sure whether it’s a man or woman. Below the face there is a cloud shape with a symmetrical design in it. Then surround the face there are lots of small stars and planets all different colours. Finally behind all of this there are multicoloured strips leading from the outer edges of the poster to the centre. The strips are either pink/yellow or blue/purple every second strip is different. I think this is also a very clever way to attract people to the poster and I think Peter Max meant this. When you look at the poster the strips give the illusion that they are pulling you towards the poster.
The target audience for this poster is probably teens to twenties as the colours give the impression the clothes sold are very bright and different so I don’t think the older generations would be drawn to this poster.
Unlike the first poster the lettering in this one is less important than the picture. The lettering is small compared to the rest of the poster and is at the top of the page. When you look at the poster you don’t notice the lettering at first.
A lot of Peter Max’s posters and book covers are of the same style. They are always bright and even his most recent work looks like it’s from the sixties.
The two posters are both very different but both do a good job of attracting people using two different techniques. One uses a more serious to the point message whilst the other uses a more fun colourful approach. The “Dig for Victory” poster doesn’t use a lot of colour in fact, only one, red whereas in “The Different Drummer” poster it’s hard to count all the colours used. The second poster is very surreal whereas the first uses a real picture.
Of the two posters I prefer “the Different Drummer Shop”. It’s a more eye-catching fun poster and I’m the kind of person who likes bright colours and mysterious designs, maybe this is because its target audience is for teenagers and I am 15. The war time poster was effective during the war but now it seems dull and boring whereas the other poster is the kind of poster you never get tired of looking at.
Gillian Hill
