LIGHTS, CAMERA, POSTERS!
DIGITAL MEDIA:
This project explores visual storytelling through fictional movie posters, where every graphic and typographic choice contributes to a narrative. Drawing on my background in graphic design and cinematic composition, each poster was crafted to capture the emotional tone and atmosphere of an imagined film—inviting viewers to engage with the story before it exists.
To build each composition, I repurposed imagery from previous assignments and experimented with scanning printed media, such as magazines, layering them with my own photographic work to introduce texture, depth, and a sense of physicality. This hybrid approach allowed the posters to feel both designed and tactile, echoing traditional film marketing aesthetics.
A key focus of the project was typography and layout precision. I researched industry-standard typefaces and billing block conventions commonly used in movie posters to ensure authenticity, while carefully refining type hierarchy, positioning, and composition. The result is a series of posters that balance creative expression with structural discipline, demonstrating how typography and layout alone can drive mood, clarity, and storytelling.
DATE
Spring 2016
ROLE
Graphic Designer
DELIVERABLES
Specialized in creating fictional movie posters by combining found imagery, personal photography, and original digital art. Process involved researching the art and structure of movie poster design, from conceptual development to final print production for a gallery show.
CHALLENGES:
Defining a unifying creative framework—including a clear theme and consistent design rules—to maintain visual cohesion across a diverse set of fictional movie posters.
Selecting and refining the right mix of imagery, typography, and stylistic elements to accurately reflect each film genre, requiring genre-specific research and experimentation.
Determining the most effective presentation format for the work, including the use of mockups to enhance storytelling and create a more immersive, cinematic viewing experience.
GOALS & METRICS:
Design posters that capture attention and spark curiosity, with success measured by the poster’s ability to invite viewers into the implied story.
Ensure each design clearly communicates genre conventions through visual language, typography, and composition, using recognizability and authenticity as key indicators of success.
Build a flexible, expandable system that allows new fictional film concepts to be added over time, measuring success by creative continuity, scalability, and ease of iteration.
Cinematic storytelling through the art of typography and composition.
Samples of the first draft layouts of some of the fictional posters that were designed
After printing all 15 fictional movie posters for a small gallery display.
Process & Craft:
This project served as an exploration of both the creative and technical considerations behind designing fictional movie posters. The process began with research into real-world film poster conventions, including industry-standard formats and print specifications—such as the 27" × 40" one-sheet size—to ground each concept in authenticity. While learning about digital printmaking workflows, the primary focus remained on design decision-making rather than full-scale production.
At the core of the project was an emphasis on typography, composition, and visual storytelling. I combined scanned imagery from printed media, such as magazine covers, with original photography, creating layered, textured compositions that reinforced each poster’s narrative and genre.
Using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, I refined each design with close attention to genre-specific visual language, hierarchy, and tone. Final posters were produced on professional-grade Epson printers using fine art paper, ensuring the digital designs translated seamlessly into high-quality physical prints with depth, clarity, and impact.
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White Rabbit
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Undoing Ruin
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Nerd-Mart
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Company Glow-Up
