The Power of Typography!

Typography is a very powerful tool used to make a poster or design effective. I had never really noticed it before, but the typography of a design says alot about it. When it comes to movie posters, the typography has the ability to tell you about the theme of the movie without saying more then the title. Below I've posted 3 posters for movies that I thought had very unique typography.




This is a poster from the horror movie “The Last House on the Left”. I’ve always found horror posters much more fascinating then say comedy posters, and the reason being because of the typography that tends to be used. From what I have seen, it is a much more unique and detailed typography then other genre’s tend to use.The typography used for the title is very effective because it immediately sends a message to the viewer. Using a typography that looks like it has been slit and cut, and appears to have blood splats flying off of it instantly has the viewer thinking this is going to be a graphic horror movie. The fact that the word “house” is the only word that is in red and has blood coming off of it, it foreshadows the fact that something brutal may occur inside this house. The interesting part about this font is that it seems to be a pretty basic font that has had editing done to it. The clean look of the font makes the blood spatter that more shocking because it is so unexpected. This typography appeals to horror movie fans and does its job while following the theme of the poster.

Here’s another horror movie poster that caught my attention. I find this typography very intriguing. The fact that it looks as though it was drawn in blood and is very shaking immediately tells you it’s a horror movie involving lots of blood and gore.  The font stays basically the same throughout the poster and is written on some sort of slant every time it’s used. This gives it a chaotic feel that adds to the theme of the poster. The typography wouldn’t have been nearly as effective if it was in yellow or blue. It would have had that scratchy hand drawn look to it, but the fact that it was put in red allows it to be perceived as though it was written in blood. This sort of typography appeals to the horror-loving audience because when you see this type of font, you instantly know what the theme of the movie is.

I thought I would finish this blog off on a brighter note, which leads me to the Shrek movie poster. The Shrek typography is very recognizable for people of all ages. Its bubbly style, rock-like texture and Shrek ears on the bright green “S” is what makes it so unique. Though the movie appeals to most age groups, the typography especially appeals to children because it looks fun and cheerful. It also says alot about the movie that you are about to watch. Because it is such a fun and cheerful font, you know that it is going to be a fun and cheerful movie. The color of the typography is also very effective in making it so powerful. If it was a plain font with orange lettering, it wouldn’t have the same impact. The “S” would not be able to stand on its own and have the audience know that it’s representing Shrek – as it does behind the characters. The Shrek “S” is a symbol and trademark on its own. When you see those ears, you immediately know which movie you are about to watch. This typography supports the theme of the movie and was very effective in the overall presentation of the poster.

Before it was pointed out to me, I didn't realize how much of an impact typography has on a piece of work. I didn't even realize that people could design their own! Now that I know how important typography is, it will help me create more complete designs of my own that have one solid theme throughout.

Here's a link to a website with a bunch of cool different typographies!

http://www.youthedesigner.com/2010/03/18/40-extremely-cool-and-inspiring-typography-designs/

Enjoy!