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Litter Poster Critique: In-Studio Students

Lesson 25 from: Bold & Fearless Design

James Victore

Litter Poster Critique: In-Studio Students

Lesson 25 from: Bold & Fearless Design

James Victore

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Lesson Info

25. Litter Poster Critique: In-Studio Students

Lesson Info

Litter Poster Critique: In-Studio Students

a lot of Lady Liberty's. I'm not saying it's wrong, So the trash can. We just saw there were a bunch of those that were sent in their versions of Trashcans, and they either had later or they had some other words they had, you know, there were. There was a level of simplicity that was fine. But again, there's nothing for me. It's like it's like, um, I like to say that I want to design a poster the same way I would tell a joke right in a poster. You want to leave off the punch line for the receiver, you know, And the punch line is when it explodes in their head, the thing they bring to it, not literally telling them everything, like spoon feeding, you know, and I know that a lot of clients would want to be very specifically want to tell them everything. It's like, I think it's better if we don't tell them everything right, Um, and with the trash can, the idea that we had multiple versions of basically the same thing tells me it's probably an idea my mother can come up with, which then te...

lls me we should try harder. You should think more about it. Or how about this? Put ourselves in it because those were not the trash can That says litter is not a personal it doesn't cut is not really coming from your heart. And I know this. Aiken speaking. I can feel it, Um, anybody not the owner, but anybody else. What do you takes? What's your opinion? We could be New York waken Bill in the year with crush name Marina. I want to say that it's a bit office idea. Kind of. It's probably what I would come up first. Like when I'm thinking about New York trash later. Can. Something that so First, you kind of don't realize that the bottom could be litter. It kind of almost looks like the Statue of Liberty just crumbled. It doesn't really look like litter down there. Yeah, it where I think we're assuming it's litter. Um, anybody is any references anybody gets cause I'm We've seen this before. Yeah, I have the apes. The original Awesome. Damn them all to hell. They blew it up a little blue Charlie Healthdyne not see Now. Now we get somewhere and you see this You like Oh, you know, you're like, Ah, that's And what is it? What does this become funny? A film reference, which is great again. I love we love Plant of the Apes we put in the work. But then more than that, more important than this is beautiful. Then what does it become? Which is perfect for this? Ah, Warning. Ah, Warning. That's amazing that we could do that. That's important. That's strong. That's a memorable. Ah, warning. We need that. The fact that we have to have an advertising campaign to tell our kids to go outside and play for an hour. That should be a warning. We have watches this that you've been sitting too long. That should be a warning. Uh, love it. Who's this? What do you think? Way better than what I did yesterday. Well, I think this is kind of funny. That's kind of hilarious. Is an empty trash basket next to it? Yeah, this one was fun to do. I think it made me think differently about using stuff that even though the Statue of Liberty hand is obvious, I didn't want to draw the entire thing. You could You get tired, bored about halfway through and you know, to be like me, it would be so funny. I gotta be crafting it beautifully. This beautiful hand of Lady Liberty and the flame really getting in there. And then she'd be like that, Just like And then I do what I always do What I'm like, Lady Liberty. Do we talk about Pictionary at all yesterday? We don't talk about Pictionary game. It's hilarious because in Pictionary, you know, and this happens Designed. See, designers do this all the time in Pictionary. What happens is you know, you're working on something, you get a word and you pick a working like Oh, okay. Okay, I got this. You ready, honey? And the word is emergency room. The word is a member emergency room. Now the word is like the emergency room, like OK, OK, I got this and you draw like that and you start going. People got like, they're like, um plus sign. You like someone with someone else? A hospital, Right? So somebody will say hospital and you're like and they'll just going Dr Datta and your You know what? You know what everyone does? That's what they dio, right? They just started pointing to it like it's going to make it better like it's gonna make it make sense, you know, until you start bleeding and they're like, You should go to the emergency room. Exactly. Okay. You like that, lady Liberty? You're gonna love that one. Oh, I see a lot of smiling and nodding. Yes, I see. I enjoy what you've done there. Tell me, Contribute to this party. I like the use of the trash. I think that's interesting. The only thing is, I think it's probably a plastic bag and plastic bag Makes me think of a well in New York. You see all these plastic bag on the telephone poles and every trace of tree? Yeah, that's that came from somewhere. And it was floated over Lady Liberty here. So it's not a beautiful flag. Yeah, it's. Yeah, well, I was just gonna say at first I thought, Oh, it's a sign saying thank you for But it took me a while to know that it was the bag and then Oh, yeah, and yeah, you know, you know, around in New York, it's like those plastic bags and trees is kind of really gross and really weird. It's not just New York is everywhere, but they haven't outlawed them there yet. No, you know, in New York, you guys air weird. Sorry. Uh, California, New York and Texas, baby. It's a place to be, um, which is moving closer together. Um, what else? Anybody else? That This small one? Like the bottom part? I know how you call those things on the top of the fire, the spires, our head under. I think it's a bit redundant. Like you can guess that it's Ah, Hunt. Right. That's this morning. Let's delete those. Yeah, I mean, that's just a visual thing. Yeah, you know Annie. Yeah. I mean, I think I think it's from I think the idea is there, but there's something missing. Like it doesn't, like, hit you like the it does. It was like, OK, well, yet bags floating, catch on thing. But what's the impact on me personally, I think music is like going to New York is like a This is trash guns floating like a thank you for coming to New York and leader our city. Yeah. Whose is this? Melvin? Tell us. Uh, my initial. The idea is when I went to New York for the first time. I saw a trash bag on the on the tree hanging, and then I kind of like, thought about like how it's like littering and how it's sort of obstructing the beauty of, uh, New York had I think I kind of put myself into, like, I was like, It's from a take out like people people do take out usually just like leave the litter and it says it, I don't exist. Thank you. And then I kind of like, how think Thought about how do you sort of incorporate that and make it as an obstruction to Statue of Liberty? You just sort of like an icon. You okay? Cool. I mean, I like I like how you're talking because you're talking about your you know, my you know, my when I have long term students, they know that the crit works best. You know, I we'll start listening to them. When? When they were talking about a piece and this and I say, Oh, tell me about this And they say Okay. When I was a kid, we went to the beach every summer, and my father and I collected rocks. And I'm like, Tell me more, right, instead of going, well, you know, trash and lady Liberty to put them together. You know, I like that, and you'll get better at that. Um, I was gonna say something else, but I forgot. Okay, hold on. But wait. There's more Lady Liberty as the icon here. We have fun style, and you can see that she's sad and something's wrong, But I don't see the relationship to trash. And the last two there was a relationship. August garbage. So that's something I see. But she could be sad because Oh, I didn't see that. She was sad. I see. It's here. Okay. Yes, yes, you are correct. You are correct. It was just hard to see. Is there a reference to that? Is there okay here? We're searching for the 9 11 in, like just New York being in a sad state. Ah, interesting. I was looking for, like again. We're in the search for, you know, because what I really like you guys to do is to tell the truth in the most, you know, like even about later you can do it. The truth and and and underst understand that the truth sometimes hurts. That's okay. Um um but make it personally, I think that was what Melvin was doing with that conversation. Was trying trying to make it personal, But he kind of didn't get, you know, because he just hasn't practiced at it enough, not been not been cheerleading or coaxed enough to do it. And to me, I can I make it always kind of like Like this process that we're talking about is whittling right, And you start with a piece of stick and it's got a blunt and and you get your pocket knife out and you start kind of wiggling and wiggling and wiggling and wiggling. And usually when I tell the story, use like a pencil and I like whittled and whittled and we'll and then if I just take this and I stabbed Fanny, it's like it doesn't hurt, right? But then I whittle and I would have let my widdle and we're gonna get a point. And I go like this and she pulls back. That's what you want. That's the point you want to get, keep on going more and more and more and more how How sharp can you get? Robert Frost, American poet laureate, once wrote that he wanted to write a poem that was barbed, right. You want to write a poem that that would stick that you couldn't get out of you? I like that idea. That's what we want to do, that that's memorable. Um, the tear. We're talking about trash and we're talking about a tear. Is there a precedent from Chief Iron? Eagle actually, was an Italian American. Did you know that that actor was an Italian American? Uh, yeah, the classic sixties ad, which was great. It was a great piece, except it was an Italian American like our own personal genocide in this country has not stopped crazy. I don't even get me started about Native Americans. Whose is this? Cleo? Tell me. And I just thought about new work and how sad it would be to have the city made of craft. But if people kept leaving their crop of river and I find that still on the ground yesterday, it's really Chris life. My photo coffee and thought, and it's like a glove. And on the copiers here because, you know, I went to a copy place, and they wouldn't let they wouldn't touch it. I have Teoh. So it's the pieces of garbage than you. Yeah, it's not overly here. Okay, let's say let's do this. Let's say okay, I'm I'm your brother in law, and I'm giving you the assignment, and I say, uh, okay, Cleo, I like this sketch. There's something here that I like about this, you know, this is how this is how the relationship works. Um, and I say, OK, well, we're gonna give you $10,000 to go to finish. What do you say? Um how many do you want? No. No. The first thing you say is the first thing you do is ask for more. Okay. First thing you do is ask for more meaning. Meaning, um, let me think. There's much of different. There are a number of different ways to say it, but you say, you know, like, uh um, you guys know Colonel Tom Parker Never heard Colonel Tom Parker. He was Elvis Presley's manager, and he bartered the biggest deals for Elvis. And the very first deal he made for Elvis was was unprecedented in the music industry. They gave him say $100,000 Colonel Tom Parker looked at the record company and said, Well, that's good for me. But what about my boy? You got to get good at that like, you know, but say they're going to give you money. Do you? See if you have a budget and you've got time, let's say a month. That's more than enough time to do most any job, although I've got a Swiss designer pal Ralf Schreiber. Google genius, literally one of the best, Still one of the best designers on the planet. Poster designers on the planet. Um, and last time we spoke with a couple years ago, he, like, he wouldn't take a job unless there was, like, six months lead, because he's that he's like, That's what it takes, which is amazing. Um, what do you perceive? If you're gonna finish this, what would you do? You can hire photographers, even higher illustrations. You could What would you do? Um, going to find more trust and just what it was like. I don't know. Not that one, but I think it could be Work is the serious, but with different illustrations. Different configurations. I don't so still drawn and copied like this. What you guys did you guys see? Can you guys can you guys take this on as your own and kind of rebuild it in some way and see something from here? What I see, like the color is just remind me of more like pollution and the texture, like here it's lost. So, like the details are gone. It's just color. And I thought it was a watercolor at first, and it's sort of like it's supported by how, like the lines are drawn. Fannie, Um, I think you to be honest, is this beautiful? I really like that. And I think you could combine it perfectly with the Kalash that one of their own languages there, like the one you found really beautiful. You have beautiful one. Yeah, and like to make it beautiful, like, I don't know, like, because I thought that, um, the drawing, it was really kitschy for me because of two tier. And it was like, this style is, like, really fast thing. I don't know if I really like it, but I had to think about what's in the background, and I think probably without it some words, words. You, in your words. It's funny glory, like an irony like I'm sad with you and Things is not a copy writing class. This is the design class. Leave the words for someone else. Do you see this as being beautiful in an ugly way? But obviously because there's trash involvement? And I think that if it was to be beautiful and then you look a closer and you realize it's disgusting that that's in fact. And I thought some trust because I would see this, a couple that would look it is I would probably look at this a couple different ways. I would see maybe taking you say it's a serious taking a couple different pieces of disgusting trash and just finding some way to drop beautiful renditions of like a beautiful Statue of liberty on this one. It was just like one piece of trash on a big, huge white people there, the beautiful drawing and then another coffee cup. This all disgusting And you like you mean like kind of just different ways of looking at drawing and garbage drawing and garbage drying and garbage drawing garbage. I like the simplicity of that drawing, too, By the way, it has a it has. Ah, kind of, Ah, um, there were some artists in the sixties and seventies who were doing so beautiful stuff and I wouldn't say is not necessarily maybe Tommy younger, But there's a level of simplicity there that's really nice guys. Responses. I love it. Yeah, I think it's really cool. And it's kind of really in your face, which is really what New Yorkers are so they wouldn't be offended by. This is all. I think they would actually respond. Teoh. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah, and post. You can't beat me up. Ah, Andy, There's an emotional thing in here. Yeah, yeah, it seems like the same thing again. Yeah, anybody else. There's words. It's not as personally shaming. I think it's kind of just like Ash. Any person, a person. You're the city. Beautiful. Yes, yes, yes, it's not. It's not sharp enough. It doesn't hurt. He doesn't know nothing. Everything has to be done like, but it's not in a long time, but yes, So the words are problem. It's kind of funny. That is kind of a pretty poster, and, you know, it would make it really beautiful have a is when you sign it. Um, Whose is this? Maureen? Tell us. Um, so I've read, like, psychological studies about what actually gets people to change behavior. And a lot of it is a perception of what the norm is, um, people people want. I want to do what they think they're expected to do in this kind of situation. So, like if they think that everybody is littering, it won't really be enough to change them. Like some grand idea about the environment and making the city of people places. Everyone else is doing it. People aren't really gonna change. But if you change the social expectation every like, if you say that most people aren't littering and kind of shame, the people who are make them feel like it's not accepted. That's what we'll really get people to change to. Kind of marginalized that fifties here. And so that's kind of what I was going for with that. I think research is boring. Um, yeah, it sounds smart. Yeah. I wouldn't in fact, research, and I would I would I would I would go with what you think I would trust yourself And that research not for nothing, Not for nothing. Research has its purposes, but it's not science, you know, It's like, yeah, I want you know, you guys are going to change your logo. Why are you gonna change your love it? Well, you know, research has told us. Like what it's like it's math or like, it's there some mystery to it. You know, um, and I agree with what the conversation was. I mean, I don't mind the type on this thing, but I think it should be more personal, like there was. There was there was a sticker that I wanted to make a bunch of years ago when I was when I was in art school, I wanted to make this thing and I didn't. And it was just said, Do you buy this? And I wanted to go walk around on advertising and put it on, you know, subway advertising and put it all over the place on advertising. And because it was like, this kind of double meaning. Do you buy that? I mean, do you purchase this crap and also do you believe what they're telling you? You know, so I wanted to be brought home like, like just a Siri's of pieces of garbage. And on all of them it says, Is this yours? Is this yours? Is this yours, right? Because that's like I mean, if you really want to get into that New York mentality, if you're like, walking along with someone just, like drops it, and then you pick it up after Sorry. Sorry. Is this yours? Right? How about that For passive aggressive? Um, now, here's initial question, Maureen. Now I'm the mayor, and I say, OK, I like the sketch. Um, I'll give you $10,000 to move on and play it out. What do you do? Um, yes, they ask for more. Um, my question is, is this going to be photographed? Is this found object? Is it are they drawings? Which what's what format? What form for it to take is going to be the most meaningful. I think I would probably play around with it. I would have to, too, because I would fall in love with my own drawings and go out. This is sexy, but and I'd be like again, it's the Hemingways. Maybe shoes. If the right form is, quite frankly ugly, do you do it? Interesting question. Any other comments on this one? You guys like this one or No? Yes. Yes. Okay, we did that one. That one. It that one. We get into some really weird stuff. Laughter. It's OK. Okay. It probably do without the words, because I can't see the details from here so much. Well, this is not a copy writing class anyway, so let's just pretend that this was never this never happened. Yeah. So I think if that was on the street, maybe some of the lines might be darker when the poster is done, but I think it it's pretty good. What do you think? Do you really go and lie in the thresh doing? Is it true snow? And what's your opinion? Is it true? And is it interesting? I created concept. Concept is interesting with like, I cannot imagine myself doing correct. Uh, I think the image is very strong with having a daughter to the idea of someone making snow angels in a pile of trash. It's just very visceral and disgusting, and it kind of it brings up in emotion in you, but it it took me a little bit of looking before I could make out that that's what was happening in the picture. And that might be the distance that I'm seeing it from. But yes there. Well, I don't think that the drawing is disgusting. So I don't think the image makes me feel disgusted by the trash, which no, it's like It's like a goofy like a Children's book about some girl grows up New City and just takes horrible situations in stride, right? Right or dog has three legs, you know, like plays and garbage. You know, Mom shoots crack is okay. It's okay. We're a family, you know. You know, that's the thing isn't true. This is This isn't there's And there's a word we used yesterday. Not a pleasant word contrived forced. And I know that if we have a conversation with this person, it's like we had a conversation with Melvin. There's a big this is a beginning, but it's not really what you want to say. Whose is this Julia? Well, what I wanted to say. So when I was walking home yesterday, there was a mother with the child and he stumbled and he almost put his hands on the Street and she was like, freaked out. Yeah, right. And so I kind of got that, like my trash. I'm enforcing her kid to play in the trash. That's what happens. And so that's why you night, like, I have memories of a kid, you know, like playing so angels. But, you know, well, before you said Snow Angels stuff is yes, the idea of literally forcing kids toe. You know, I remember. I can't believe I moved there on my own volition at 19 years old, with like, $300 in my pocket. Moved to New York City. Got on a bus, went to New York City because we would occasionally visit the city rarely. When I was a kid and I remember being like 10 years old, I got and we're going to my grandmother's house cause she lived up in Yonkers above above white plans above this above the city, and we took a train in integrate into Penn Station the back when Penn Station was so much better than it is now. You know, um, and I distinctly remember it was my mother's holding my hand. My father's probably over here, and I've got two sisters and we're supposed to walk someplace around Penn Station and there's literally a guy passed out drunk crossways on the sidewalk, and my parents said, Just step over him and I'm like everybody was that Swifty. Everyone's like no one was going around and was just like, you know, like, uh, that's weird. Haven't done anywhere That hasn't been You know, we don't see that that much in New York anymore, but, you know, So how do we bring some level of? Because this is this. This is contrived. And I liked what you said is like the idea of like, Oh my God, who here has pure O on them right now? Right? That's like a weird idea were so clean. Even that bottle by bottle, we buy water. Yeah, it's a warning. It's all warning way by water. I'm gonna buy air pretty soon, so it's contrived, and it's forcing its. It's funny and cute, but it's not memorable. It's not powerful. It's not true, right? Is it true? And yes, you got to true by saying, you know, because it's gonna be tough. Have you know I've already had the conversation we've ever had? The conversation my child will never go in the subway, Uh, as the people eaten on the subway. I'm like, Are you kidding me? You're eating it. I would rather starve than eating a subway. Kidding me, But so there's there's there, is that you understand that it's theirs. That's the level of truth that there there's a bunch of shit out there. But I think you can get there in a place that makes it very memorable. That because what you what you want to do is you want people to be responsible and actually be conscious. I mean, this whole thing is a consciousness campaign about litter. You know the warning. Cool. We did that. We did that. What we think Hi. What we think part Frank, what Ward's No heart is like you can do. I would trash that. There's a word are but surprising. It seems like it's saying trash is good. That was my kind of initial opposite of what you would want. Maybe maybe I was thinking it feels more like recycling. Then boo trash. So telling everybody to turn their trash into art and sell it to tourists. Stephanie E. It kind of made me think about. Maybe this is a poster for art gallery exhibition. Yeah, it's Cristo. Cristo is coming back to New York, and he's bringing all Is recycling with him, right? What about the word art? Interesting choice, huh? So I can smell something good. Is drive me crazy. It's an interesting choice of words there, art we This was about later. This is about a consciousness about not just a drop in your, you know, carrying about a sense of pride about where you live. And now we have art on a plastic bag yesterday. Maybe it's to inspire people to, like, reuse their trash or kind of cause, like a lot of things. Now, it's kind of like with the feeling of, like, recycling, getting stuff that you would throw away you could use to create other products. I could see that for composting. I could see that for composting because that would be cool. I love too. I tried composting this summer in our place, and all I did was fill our house with ants. I s I must rethink it next time. Yes, Program. I think it's in San Francisco and I don't know if it's at the dump or at the recycling place. But they have artists that come in for, like, I dunno if it's six months and create things out of trash. Yeah, but it's just it's it is a little tiny little thing. Whose is this? I'm curious. Arena. Tell us. So I was thinking about people going on the subway and saying this type of poster and they're like, Fark, that's not art. It's a trash. And this is like, it's Ah, take a shit out. Throw it away. We're on television, you know? I'm sorry. You're going to get a letter. Sorry, guys. Nothing personally. So I also you know, the chase off. The word is controversial, right? So this would attract attention and something that I believe. I think there's something right. I think there's something oddly enough, I think there's something to what you're saying. I think the choice of the word is incorrect. Um, I like the idea of just having this big. Oh, I think you know, since were image makers. I think the the the word itself is having a word itself is wrong or is not is not doing what you want. You're adding you've got. You know, you got two things here. What a word in a plastic bag, right? I don't think that second thing, the the art, the word is helping the way you think it is. And I'm curious of you. If I would strip off all this, all this type and leave the plastic bag up there and then suggest a campaign subway posters and bus shelter posters are big, you know? What if it was just you crushed can plastic bag thing? You know, what I What I'm doing unfortunately is is, you know, just kind of the plot that steal its object poster. Um, but I'm removing that. That play that you that you were or possibly there's a different kind of Maybe it's not. This is one word. Maybe it's there's some poetry. I mean, like, well worded phrases. Not necessarily. You're not putting problem no rueda on here. But you know something? I guess it's definitely needs like, you know, like you showed like a small, um, small Virdon summer bottom. Right on. Like given this idea that you need to throw this trash because it's a trash, right, it's not. It's not a not right it's and trash, so don't show. You are two people put it like in the country. So I kind of like this. This idea, huh? Yeah, yeah. Ah ah. People. I think people know that there trash isn't I think, Yeah, I think there's a, um there's a leap of faith that you're that you're thinking people are gonna make and I don't know, I'm I'm less confident that they're going to do that. So I got two other ones real quickly. I want to show you that. You know, um I think because of the, you know, just the kind of play on you know, the knee jerk response to New York. I love New York. You know, one has got trash and it says comic coming soon and the other one is like, I poop New York and it's got your choices matter. Like well, I can see the designer is like, I put New York and then, like, it's not enough. I'm just gonna really get him. Your choices matter, right? Like so it's It's it's interesting to see. And we got a bunch of these online too. So why, that's the way it was kind of interesting. Thio Thio, bring these up

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

James Victore - 10 Type Rules Wallpaper.zip

bonus material

James Victore - Bold and Fearless Poster Design Course Supplies.pdf
James Victore - Litter Poster Client Brief.pdf
James Victore - Suggested Reading List.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

Jephiner
 

I am not a graphic designer, I'm an artist, but this class translates beautifully. James' teaching style is nothing short of delicious - fresh, alive, fun, exciting - while being full of depth and poignant, valuable content, much of which transcends medium and brings value to any creative individual. I found particular value in the lessons around tools (and altering tools), the criteria for good work, the need to infuse your opinion into your work, the value of abandoning perfection, paying attention to cancer that is one's ego and that we are meant to be creators, and not 'the help'. More than anything else though, I benefited from being reminded, with such a burning passion, that we are not put on this earth to pay a mortgage and support a family, but to identify our true work and to bring it into existence in this world. So nice to reminded of something I know but forget on a regular basis. One of the best online classes I have ever taken - a real home run.

a Creativelive Student
 

Came to this course (and site) via Anna Dorfman's blog. Loved the motivational and philosophical aspects of the course. Very entertaining and inspirational. Also loved listening to Victore discuss his own work and process-- the stories of how he got specific ideas, tinkered with them, perfected them, etc.. As for the critiques of student and online work, I didn't find them very useful. I would love to see him pick out a few of the very best, and then give his own short and sweet-- and specific-- insights into how HE would improve them. Or just abandon the critiques entirely and instead show and discuss more of his own or other successful designers' work. Overall, fun and inspirational, with some helpful tips.

dlevans
 

I loved this course! Exceeded every notion I had. The design, concepts and principles were fun, funny and insightful. But James went so far beyond the "poster design" and into the philosophy, thinking, inspiration - huge! I am so glad I watched this course not only for the quick wit and fast humor (Jame's is smart! Sharp... And Really Funny - compliments his teaching and design), but the reading list he suggests, ways to nudge your creativity and the fashion with which he gets you thinking... Invaluable! Organic, Rich, Impact and message - this course has the design "how-to" covered, the real pearls are Jame's humble experience and generosity. Great Course... Oh, and check out his book! "Victore! or, Who Died and Made You Boss?" Inspiration and fun!

Student Work

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