To get into the graphic design program at a college I applied to I had to design a poster. I had to select a subject that related to a particular social or enviromental issue that I felt strongly about.

I chose global warming. This program is pretty prestigious, so I want to submit my best work. Would you guys please give me some awesome critique? As fellow art lovers, I trust you all to be brutally honest.




edit: It occurs to me, that this should be in the "look what i did!" forum...

this is okay to put in here, if you're looking for tips on your art

do you have a bigger version?
one thing that stands out is the trees in the background which is clear that it's a photo and the "snow"man is a painting..you could try bluring the trees

Hm, I'm not sure I like the lettering. It just looks stuck in, it doesn't seem to have much relation to the rest of the image. I'm not sure what to suggest about that. Could they be wider or something perhaps? Illustrator will do neat things with typography. Or maybe they should have some sort of weight/style other than plain black, although that is its own type of contrast, it seems to stick out too much from the picture. This would be too cliche or cheesy, but maybe fading from a medium brown at the top of the letters and then "Same" is the only black word? something like that?

Also, are some of those capitalized? They have a different height and it kind of makes them look a little off. :) If you are using uniform-style letters you should probably make sure they are actually uniform. I'm no graphic designer but the capital letters make it look funny. :(

Skool and Sub have some good sugestions there. Would it be wrong if the mouth was flat instead of smiling? Maybe that's going too far?

I think giving the snowman a sad face would be going too far, but other than the lettering (I agree with Skool that all the letters should be the same height, and it would be cool if you did them in dark brown) I like it. It drives the point home in a darkly comedic manner that helps get the point across more memorably than the normal "OH GOD THE EARTH IS MELTING" tactic that most eco-groups are using today.

Oh yeah I meant to say that too :) I think it's a really clever image and creative and also fun. Just needs a little refinement on the lettering or whatever. :) Poor snowman.

Thank you guys so much for all the advice. Rather than making him frown, I straightened his mouth making him seem much more apathetic. Those trees in the background aren't from a photograph I drew them in photoshop. Anyway text fixed and such, what do you guys think? Oh, and...I've gotten a few disheartening responses for this...but what do you guys think he's made of?

i actually think i'm going to keep the smile. A friend of mine put it best. I put the first version up on my myspace to get further critique, and here's what she said.

"
Now that I see the actual poster, I do think the "snow"man should remain smiling.
That further impacts the message of "It's not the same".
If it frowns, it would seem a tad corny, in my oppinion.
Love the trees in the backgorund.
Make the carrot...better...looking... <<"
Mkay, I'm done."

what do you think? Keep the smile?

Yeah, the smile... I dunno, that's up to you. Personally I felt the smile was a bit much, but others think the opposite :)
But as for what it's made of; I can see how that would be a problem. Perhaps if you added some things to make it look more dirt like?
A stray clod of grassy turf mixed into his construction? A slug or snail? Those things make me think of dirt as oposed to poo. -I'm not saying it looks like poo BTW.

Hm, yeah, I agree with Ozone that it could have clods sticking out, and little extra twigs and bits of grass maybe. :) I think the text looks better! The carrot seems a little too orange though.

i would blend in the trees more since it's raining and the rain could use a litle bit of a touch up....you hardly see rain in those big drops

One last note on the lettering: Lose the shadow. You want to give the impression that the ur-snowman and the rain exist in a three-dimensional environment, and the shadow on the text sort of screws up that dynamic. ...Also, I think maybe you should try making the spaces between the lines of text equal-- it would look a tad cleaner.

Still, though, great piece.

You know, considering this is for a graphic design program, I wouldn't worry as much about the illustration as the typography, which currently, as it sits, is very weak. There is very strange leading going on between the bottom two lines and the font is.. well.. again, odd. The font and placement is quite boring. You haven't gone nearly far enough with it. You aren't thinking sideways enough. If this is a poster, generally speaking there is more text on it than just the title. You should consider that. Personally, I think if you are seriously considering graphic design as a career you might want to make this look as much like a real poster from a real place as possible. Graphic design is not about being artsy fartzy, its about making art functional for a client and a purpose.

One of the number one things you will be dealing with is fonts. Illustration isn't as much of a valued or needed skill because as a Designer you hire illustrators or photographers. Its good to have, handy definately, but not your strongest needed skill. Typography, on the other hand, can make or break a designer. I speak from experience. That, and the ability to work with space. Compositions, balance, layout, etc.

With this composition, you have a lot of dead, wasted space. The type is all weird sizes (i'm assuming its the font, but its not a good one for this application.) which makes it look jarring to the eye. The N is far too close to the It's without it looking intentional, thus it looks sloppy. Like I said the leading needs to be decided and constant. I'd suggest trying more compositions with that headline. You have a good idea, but as it is said, you aren't 'there' yet. You need to go further. You need to think about your message and the tone of your message. The image might be interesting, but the typography is detracting from it currently. And again, I think there should be more type on this to make it look like a poster. Right now it looks more like the left page in a magazine spread.

Hope that helps.

My school has the same entry parameters!

Are you applying to Penn State, mayhaps? This is a great poster, and it definitely gets the point across effectively. That's all theyre looking for, really. Clarity and organization. You've got both. Solid poster!

acadia
My school has the same entry parameters!

Are you applying to Penn State, mayhaps? This is a great poster, and it definitely gets the point across effectively. That's all theyre looking for, really. Clarity and organization. You've got both. Solid poster!

I totally am! Do you live in state college?

Haha, yeah. I'm a freshman this year (though mentally sophomore -- been here 2 semesters, this is my third). I'm living on campus right now, so yeah - State College.

That's wild. I hear that the graphic design program is hardcore. This girl I work with is in the program and she spends most of her time in the lab.

I got in...how crazy is that?

congrats!

I told you! The poster was a great engine for getting that point across. You dont need words or any other information to convey other than the obvious: Save the environment.

Great job on getting in! You're gonna have to tell me about it. I took GD100 last semester online, but i won't be taking graphic design as a major (IST is what I'm goin for)

Congratulations! Well deserved, I think. ^_^