We have been tasked with creating a poster for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR sets out a number of different rights that every person should be entitled to. It protects individuals freedom and strives to ensure equality for all.
The brief proposes that we select one of the articles from the UDHR and present it in a poster manner in a way that we feel fits the text. The brief does not specify any particular font, layout or size, encouraging to present more meaningful text in a more predominant manner. This may mean larger, bolder or of different colours— the brief doesn't limit/suggest anything for this.
This should focus more predominately on typography, given that it is a poster. However, elements of point, line and plane can be incorporated into our design, given that they are used appropriately and do not distract from what the poster is aiming to display.
The dimensions of the poster aren’t specified in the brief, so it is up to the designer to choose this. The only requirement relating to this is that the layout is appropriate for screen, so uses a tablet, phone, laptop or other device formatting.
An underlying structure should be sued to support the design. This can either be the Fibbaconi Sequence or Material Designs 8dp grid. This will give the poster a good underlying structure that aligns with design fundamentals.
The declaration was initially founded during a UN meeting in Paris on the 10th of December 1938 during their 183rd plenary meeting. To gain a full understanding of the brief, I took it upon myself to look through a copy of the original declaration drafted after the meeting.
Section A of the original declaration is, in my opinion, the truly valuable section that has shaped the way our world operates today. It states that the general assembly proclaims that it should ‘be a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations’. It lays out 30 different rights, in both English and French, proposing that all people should be entitled to these. Each article states a different right, in the end giving thirty different basic rights that all people must be treated with.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights | OHCHR - I used this to look through the different declarations, as well as accessing the original.
Before jumping into selecting a style, layout, font or anything else relating to my own design, I want to take some time to research some designers and their works. This will help to to gain insight into a range of designs and styles before I begin to even think of my own. Through doing this, I aim to gain inspiration and a better sense of what I would like to produce.
Brockmann is a key pioneer of the Swiss Style, often regarded as one of the most influential designers of this era. From when I first learned about him, I was intrigued by his work as it was simple yet very impactful and eye catching. In my opinion, that’s what I should aim for with a poster of such a serious nature. Although aesthetics are intriguing and absolutely contribute, the key concern is to get the article to stand out and really grab peoples attention. He incorporates point, line and plane into his design very effectively, as they are clear and have an impact yet don’t take over the entire screen.
Asymmetry is used expressively in these designs- it works without looking chaotic or strange. Furthermore, I appreciate Brockmann’s bold use of colour is some of the shown posters. In particular, the black and red creates a vibrant design in which the text stands out. I feel that a vibrant background is something that I would like to employ in my poster, as of course the goal is to grab the readers attention and give a sense of importance.
Furthermore, Brockmann is regarded as the founder of the grid system. I love the organised look that using a grid gives a poster, as well as helping with the design process by giving a guide for how to lay out a poster. I would love to employ a grid system to my UDHR poster, another reason why I am so inspired by his works.
Emil Rudder is another key designer of the Swiss Style. Similarly to Josef Muller-Brockmann, his style is simplistic and uses the basic building blocks to design to create eye-catching posters. Like many other designers at this type, his style was very experimental leading to him having a very distinctive style. The reason I am inspired by his designs is similar to above— his works are simplistic and eye catching.
