Design Principles / Task 2

on

 03/02/25 - 17/02/25 / Week 1 - Week 3

Sheren Princessa Davon / 0362134

Design Principles / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Task 2: Visual Analysis & Ideation

INSTRUCTIONS


In this task, we are to further analyze and assess the design work we selected in Task 1. 
First, we are require to write a 300-350 word analysis of our chosen artwork. Then, we are to sketch 3 ideas on how our selected design can be improved with a rationale about 30-50 words.

Visual Analysis

Below is my chosen artwork:
Anatomy of a Murder Poster by Saul Bass, 1959


This is a poster for the movie ‘Anatomy of a Murder”. The poster is literally separated into two parts with the use of jagged cuts. The focal point is a flat illustration of a figure of a human body with its limbs and head disattached, solid black against an orange background, keeping it simple and clean. All-uppercase sans-serif typography stating the movie title is placed strategically on top of the figure. Below this is a bright red background with the actors’ names placed on top of it in a similar typographic style.


There is high contrast in the poster, emphasizing the bold black illustration through the light orange background, establishing its focal point. Simultaneously, the typography atop the figure captures attention, guiding the audience’s eye to the details. The typographic choice of text outlines in black against the bright red background for the cast list adds another layer of contrast, which ensures visibility without overpowering the focal point. The visual weight of the bold figure is balanced with negative space stabilizing the entire composition. The repetitive use of flat illustration and solid colors alongside similar typographic styles create a sense of harmony and unity. The fragmented figure itself symbolizes the murder aspect of the movie and the fragmented nature of detective work. The choice of color, yellow and red, also signifies warnings and danger, representing the movie’s theme. 


Saul Bass was known for transforming complex narratives into simple yet captivating visuals (Labs, 2024). Bass' use of a cut-out human figure in this poster is such a literal yet effective way to communicate the dissection of truth and justice discussed in the film, a visual metaphor for the dissection of a crime and also the murder. Despite using any gore, Bass’ minimalist design still evokes a sense of uneasiness through the hand-drawn, dismembered body. The jagged cuts in the illustration and background of the poster gives a rough and imperfect human feel, making it more tactile. Altogether, this poster displays the symbolic representation of the broken nature of death, truth, and justice that comes with murder, whilst also showcasing the effectiveness of Bass’ simplistic design.


354 words


References: 

https://www.creativemastery.blog/p/saul-bass-designing-a-legacy-one-day-at-a-time

Sketches

Sketch 1

Fig 1.2 Sketch Ideation

The first sketch is quite simple, I wanted to fix up some of the text alignment and typography, since there is one line of text solely in a serif font, I wanted to keep it as sans-serif to keep it cohesive throughout the design. I also had the idea to add a red outline along the figure to replicate the chalk outline that is drawn during crime scene investigations. This is to add another layer of the mysterious nature and symbolize the murder/mystery genre even more. 

Fig 1.3 Sketch #1

Sketch 2
Fig 1.5 Sketch #2

For the next sketch, I had the idea to make the poster into one continuous poster instead of splitting it into 2 separate sections. I plan to keep the same figure and typography consistent, but enlarged with the red outline mentioned in the first sketch. I felt like in the original poster, the cast list placement was quite boring and felt a bit out of place in the entire composition, so I tried to come up with other ideas. I landed on police tapes; again to emphasize the crime scene. The tape will contain the cast list instead of the typical "POLICE" writing, to bring forth a more creative way to display the cast list.

Sketch 3
Fig 1.4 Sketch #3

 The idea is to maintain the similar figure but with a pool of the same red color (symbolizing blood) used in the original poster, also in the same style of jagged cuts. The title typography is in a similar style but it's outside of the body instead of on the body itself. I also want to add textures in the background to keep the rough hand-drawn feel, also replicating concrete grounds.


FEEDBACK

Week 4
  • Good ideas, Mr. Fauzi said Sketch #2 is a good idea with the tapes because it is decorative yet it serves purpose also, gives related information 
  • Can experiment more with the tapes, maybe not just two, can add some at the top as foreground (maybe a bit blurred?) and the tapes can say more information about the movie
  • Simple but good concepts

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