'X' Aid Poster Development #1

I really felt that the Aid symbol needed to be included in the design to create the instant message that the discussion was to do with aid. I just had to figure out how to drop it into the layout without confusing the hierarchy or taking up so much space that the type was pushed aside or even reduced in size.

There are a few problems with using a symbol such as this. Firstly it is essentially a X, which carries negative connotation. Iw as very wary of this and did not want it to appear as if the discussion event was biased. The second problem is that it only really works in two ways. as a straight forward CROSS as in with vertical and horizontal lines, and if not that, in red. But doing either of these made the poster messy and confusing. It was a tricky decision, but to avoid this confusion I split it in half and rotated it through 45 degrees. This tok the edge off to an extent but the message was still not working instantly.

I tried using red as the background colour but this just made each design look like a swiss letterhead. That was obviously not working, it would also use too many colour, which was a restraint on the brief set down by the client.

I then simplified the design, letting the type do all the work. I should have probably jumped straight to this point in the first place, but you have to cancel out the bad ideas to know which the good ones are. It was then a matter of using weight, colour and positioning to get the correct hierarchy.

I tried a more geometric approach based around the symbol, and then used it as the basis for the delivery of the message and the layout. However it looked far to much like a poster promoting something swiss. The combination of directional type as well as the red X was too much.

To stop this I tried adding in a single elements of my previous designs. It worked better but was still not a solid design and overall made the type look messy.

The curved arrows added onto the ends of the Aid symbol were designed as a preliminary replacement for a photographed version that would dictate to an extend the hierarchy of the information.

I printed ou the arrow design on A3 paper and bent it in different ways to try and create the illusion of the aid symol pointing outward in all directions; representing the 'internation' aid and the idea of giving.

It was an interesting concept in theory but did not quite work practically. The arrows made it too confusing, pointing in all direction around and off the page. Also I would have had to print off an A0 print of it, clamp it into place then photograph with directional lighting for it to have the full effect. This would have taken too much time away from my major briefs.