Homework For 9/2: Testing The Blog Waters

Hey!  This is Alex Merges, and I finally decided to check my HVCC e-mail.  Here's the blog assignment for the week, just so we're on the same level:

Look over some links on class blog and try posting/commenting to the blog some examples of design that you feel influence you.

- Andrew Lynn, Professor

Well, I'm a firm believer in having a sense of humor.  I'm a big fan of silliness, parody, and farce in general, and that permeates my work.  Most of what I do has a touch of humor to it.  So my biggest inspiration in terms of design comes from a company that has made its name basically through humor:

RiffTrax sells hilarious commentary for movies (think Mystery Science Theater 3000 in MP3 format), and they have a very fun way of advertising their wares.  They have a graphic designer whose job it is to basically parody the movie posters of the movies that they are releasing the commentary for.  The posters go beyond simply Photoshopping in a new head over, say, Brad Pitt's.  These posters have full-blown caricatures, recreated scenes from the movie, and even similar sets.  They are, in a word, awesome.

This stuff inspires me because not only is it funny, but the designer goes above and beyond what is expected for these posters.  He pulls out all the stops and makes some absolutely incredibly works.  And despite the fact it's all silly, it's still very professional.  This is what I strive for in my own work.

Below are a few examples of the RiffTrax posters.  (They're hyperlinks because I couldn't figure out how to get multiple images on the same line, and I didn't want to make this post longer than it needed to be.)

The Grudge | Memento | Saw (An official parody poster)