The making of
this year’s best poster
Ellen Lupton,graphicdesignerandauthorofHowPostersWork, onwhy exactly that
WONDER WOMAN 1984 poster was such a massivehit
PREVIEW
“Thisgreenelementatthebottom
makesyouthinkofa landscape,behindher
is a sunset,andWonderWomanis
emergingfromtheEarthlikeGaia.
Thesenseofherburstingoutofthat
colouris verymuchpartofthe
narrativeoftheposter— she’s
in themiddleofthisexplosion,
emergingoutof
the dawn.”“TheMylar[atypeofshiny
plasticpolyesterfilm]background
is veryartificial.It’snotfire,it’snota
curtain— it’sa littledisco.I’venever
seenthistexturebefore,it’svery
strangeandoriginal.Andinsteadof
givingthetitleofthemovie,it
signifiesthe‘W’through
thiscrazyrainbow
background.”“There’snotextorlogo.
Butthelogoisthebackground
— theWshapes.I thinkbecauseit’s
earlyinthepromotion,andit’sa
teaserposter,sofornowit’sabout
creatinginterestandstirring
controversyanddiscussion.
Future[posters]will
becomemore
commercial.”“Thecolourpaletteis really
strong,breakingtheexpectation
ofa black-and-whiteposter.
It’stherainbow,thefullcolour
spectrum.It’sdefinitelysaying
thatthisis a colourful
eraandit’sgoingtobe
a colourfulmovie.That’s
a bigmessageof
theposter.”“WonderWomanis verystatic–
butshe’salsogroundingthewholething.
Allthosediagonalspointtoher,framing
her.It’sverytraditionaltohavethemain
figureinthecentre.Sheis theanchor.
Inthelastmovieshehada Greek
gladiatorsuit,butthisoneis late
20thcentury-feeling.She’s
reflectingallthecolour
around her.”“Abigtrendindesigninthe
lastfewyearsis tousegradients
— a verysofttransitionfromone
colourtothenext.Thisisnota
gradient:thesecoloursareverybright,
andtheydeliberatelyclashwith
eachother.It’squitehardand
geometric— it’snotsoft
andgentlewafting
colours.”
WONDER WOMAN 1984IS IN CINEMAS FROM 4 JUNE 2020 WORDS: BEN TRAVIS