Saturday, December 7, 2013

Field Journal #5 - Plakatstil

As I read through the Art Nouveau and Early Modernism, one particular style stood out to me: Plakatstil (Poster Style), and it's relative, Sachplakat. 
Plakatstil is characterized by a flat, solid background with a focal image and brand name as the center. It's so simple as far as design and messaging that it still used as a major marketing technique in today's marketing world. There's no gimmick, or misdirection; just simple and up front product placement. 
When Apple first came out with their iPods and iTunes Music Store, they had a very popular ad campagin that embodied this style. It was  white silhouette with the distinctive ear buds on top of a solid color background. It was a very simple design that did not require much use of color or dimensionality. Yet, consumers ate up the ad campaign.

In ways, Plakatstil is an innate style of design. In my work with young children, I've noticed that when asked to design a poster to show their favorite object, this is the style most often used (unknowingly). Perhaps it's this simplicity and innate factor that continues to draw consumers to simple poster designs. 


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