Beirut Poster Analysis: Catastrophe and Consequence
What are the primary and secondary hooks?/ what do we see first and second?
The first thing we see in this poster are the vertical words, catastrophe and consequence. Second, we see the smaller yet bold text on the left that spells out the full title, “Catastrophe and Consequence: The Campaign for Safe Buildings – A Symposium.”
Count the levels of type. / Size / Weight / italics
There are six levels of type in the poster:
- Large type, extra-bold, all-caps, vertical
- Medium type, bold, title-case
- Small type, sentence-case, bold
- Small type, sentence-case regular
- Small type, all-caps
- Footnote type, smallest size, sentence-case
Discuss how it navigates. / eye travels without getting stuck
The main navigation of the poster is vertical- where your eye is guided from top to bottom within each level of hierarchy. Additionally, the text reads from left to right. The poster is structured by three main vertical columns.
What aspect of it creates energy? / Design is exciting to view
Beirut created energy in this poster through cutting the edges of bold type and duplicating them outward, making the poster appear to vibrate. The symmetry involved is captivating, as well as the optical illusion of movement. The poster is separated into three main columns, and the center column features small, regular-weight type that heavily contrasts the bold type in the adjacent columns.
How does it handle white space? / effective structural space
This poster doesn’t include much empty white space, but it doesn’t feel crowded. Interesting points of negative space are created within the letter edges- creating the pulsating pattern. Consistent margins of space are used between the columns and on the outer edges.
What makes it work? / overall impression and how it achieves impact
This poster is effective because of high contrast, strong typography, and the illusion of movement. The type is manipulated without loosing readability, and the order of hierarchy is effective. This poster shows how such a simple effect- cutting and pasting the ends of letters- can achieve something so captivating. I tend to overthink what kinds of effects I can create when designing posters- but this poster is a reminder not to over complicate things. This is a super eye-catching design that would easily stand out amongst other competing posters.
