The poster was designed by the National Publicity Studios and reproduced by the silk-screen process. Size, 39 in. × 24 in.

G. F. Bridgman is Art. Director to the National Publicity Studios. He is responsible for industrial and agricultural exhibitions, not only in New Zealand, but in Canada, U.S.A., Great Britain, Paris, and Moscow. He is in charge of the designing and production of posters by which this country introduces herself overseas.

A design does not necessarily make a poster because it has been put on to a sheet of poster paper conforming to the standard size. There have been many fine illustrations which would make excellent pictures for wall decoration or picture books—but as posters I think they have missed the mark.

The Keynote is Simplicity

I think simplicity is the keynote to poster design. Simplicity in conception, construction and ingenuity of arrangement. For instance, if you take a clean sheet of white paper and pin it up on the wall and leave it there and then watch the results you will find that it will create mild attention—but then again if you were to take a picture and hang it up it will probably go unnoticed. Now if you take a nice generous sized brush and a pot of red poster paint and then in the middle of your clean sheet of white paper, put a lovely big blot of red, it will attract attention more quickly, creating a lot of curiosity. You now have the first and most important thing in poster design—it has done its first job—drawn your eye towards it.

First Arrest

That is the idea of the poster—to attract in a few seconds as one passes. Now what is it for? If we write in bold black letters across the blot of red the word ‘Bovril,’ we have now drawn attention and expressed something. What is Bovril? Well now at the top we write in a more sombre colour—say grey—the words ‘Try’ and below, three more words also in grey—‘In hot milk’ you now have a simple poster ‘Try Bovril in Hot Milk.’ The time estimated for a person to see and digest a poster is approximately three seconds, at least one must cater for the very minimum of time. Of course there are places like railway stations where people do have more time to view posters; that is the place for travel posters. Even then the artist, when planning such a poster, must still keep in mind some strong points to attract attention. If he is fortunate enough to visit the place the poster has to feature, he will study the surroundings looking for that particular spot which will give him a chance to get an eye-catcher such as a red sail, white cliffs, bright flowers, etc.

Avoid Useless Detail

It is a waste of time to clutter up a poster with detail, and anything in a poster that cannot be sorted out from a distance of ten feet need not be there, which simply means that you must treat the subject broadly, avoiding too much detail. A poster is not a pamphlet, it is merely a quick means of attracting attention to something that somebody wants you to know about, whether it is soup or castles. There are some clever layouts which unconsciously direct the eye to a message that is important—like the Japanese flag; you must arrive at the sun whichever way you look at it. This can be done in a much more subtle way and such things as clouds, roads, trees, shapes, limbs, can all be placed in such a manner to direct your eye to a special point, usually to a name or illustration.

Colour

Colour is important, and balancing areas of colour in the right way to get the best results calls for experience —some colours dazzle, such as red on blue, unless they are separated by black, red on green, unless it is dark green. Tests have proved these are bad—they confuse. Black on yellow is the most striking colour combination and can be read over long distances.

There has been a lot of discussion as to whether advertising pays. As far as the poster is concerned I think that it is a good medium to use to keep a name before the public. Coming back to ‘Bovril,’ if you see this on the hoardings every day as you pass to work it becomes absorbed in your subconscious mind and later if you are wanting something of that sort you will recognize it in a shop. It will sort itself out from other brands. Then again if the shop has another brand displayed in the window and it is an attractive show you may change your mind and forget Bovril.

Summing up I should say that a poster should be bright, simple in design but suggest a lot. Good draughtsmanship and well balanced colour scheme; above all, it must attract attention. It is not always so easy to design a winner and most of the best ideas are inspired or come to the artists in a flash—labouring over a design to my mind doesn't always give the best results. Some subjects are very difficult while others are easy, but remember simplicity of design can be quickly absorbed by the passerby.

Try it Yourself

Readers interested in this subject could try a few simple designs using three or four colours only and the name of some commodity with a slogan to go with it—remembering first to attract, then the name, then the suggestions for its use as mentioned above. Try different colours to prove which ones catch the eye more readily. There should be plenty of freedom in the layout. Don't crowd things up together; this only confuses the eye, and remember there isn't time usually to puzzle a poster out. It must be quick to convey its message.