Is the poster redundant? Is the poster a space that makes scense of the sponsors logos placement and hierarchy? One looks to poster design in Europe and dreams of medium that is larger than life. A communication space where the image is the message and the audience is visually enhanced – A mythical cast of thousands hungry for well craft messages and images that tap on the door of the art world and call out – is if there is a room in the inn for the night?

On the other hand the majority of Australian poster design is a canvas for a big picture; sometimes art directed, a headline, text unsuitable for reading in the poster format and let’s not forget a stable logos.

A good campaign is usually capped off with a poster. We design our posters to communicate and to be stolen. A good poster is a stolen poster. A poster that compells someone to break the law to decorate their homes and work spaces.

We love a good poster, we love making innovative and mimicked campaigns too.

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The Area_2 publication published the AGDA 2002 Call for Entries poster, this project was a love job, the concept, image making, writing, typography and artwork was developed by Andrew Ashton.

In 2001 Andrew was appointed to head up and develop the communications collateral for the 2002 Australian Graphic Design Awards in Melbourne Australia. To pull the work together Andrew developed general theme – outside in / inside out, an event brand was resolved and a typeface, a free font, were the design elements that bound all of the collateral.

The project depicted is a call for entries poster / brochure. Twenty four Melbourne based designers were invited to respond to the theme and create a hero image. Also four designer were invited to prepare a type based back.

At the time the graphic design of John Melin, collages by photographer Robert Frank, Bukowski and Slessor poems were kicking around as inspiration.

The photograph was taken in an empty paddock next to Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge. There was no budget and in typical fashion Andrew left the production of the image and artwork to the very last minute, to ensure Andrew’s fundamental design element was in place – to set a strict time cap, in this instance two weeks from concept to artwork. There were two photographic sessions, the first female model didn’t want the image to go to print and a life model was hired for second sunny shoot. One always wanted the first image to be published; with its approaching tempest, muted light and saturated greens and browns, yet it was never to be.

At the time Andrew was interested in exploring the tension of opposing forces, so much can happen when you strap opposites together.

The type on the back is playful. One wanted the reader to turn the piece up side down and back again. The copy was meant to fox the reader too, while delivering practical information.

The final piece was presented as an A1 poster that housed two portrait A2 posters, each split by a single course perforation parallel with the short edge. The piece was printed on 100gm2 uncoated paper that was folded down to A5 to fit in a C5 purpose designed envelope. There were twelve A1 posters that made up the complete set displaying the work of twenty four designers.

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