Design

The importance of design in the movie industry is illustrated well by the American poster for the 2009 film The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. This poster successfully conveys information about the movie, as well as intriguing it’s target audience, in an aesthetically pleasing way.

The poster is well-balanced, with the graphics and font centered, with the largest images directly in the middle, and the smaller text and pictures on the edges of the page. In the very center, the title of the film is shown in a serif font, which is shadowed to give the illusion of popping off the poster. The title is also curved. The older font gives the viewer the sense that this film takes place in the past, while the curvature of the wording alludes to it’s whimsical nature.

Above the title is the image of the main characters affectionately interacting. They are draped in fabric in a sort of anachronistic costume, letting the viewer know that this movie will be somewhat fantastical. Their body language in this picture also would pique the interest of any viewer interested in a romantic story, and allowing it to appeal to diverse audiences.

Below the title is a more whimsical image of a fun checkerboard, providing a bit of an optical illusion. This leads to what appears to be a portal, an elaborate golden doorway showing another world, with some mystical looking characters standing nearby. The elaborate door gives the viewer the sense that this film has a complex and attractive set design, and what’s beyond it gives a sense of the plot and genre of this film. It clearly defines it as a fantasy and adventure style movie, just like the picture above it shows that there is a romantic plot.

At the very top of the image is a list of well-known actors appearing in the movie, and their photographs line the bottom of the poster. This allows viewers who may be familiar with either the names or the faces of the actors to identify that this is a movie they’d be interested in.

The poster for The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus gives the viewers information about the cast, plots, genres, and designs of the film, showing it would appeal to fans of romance, whimsy, or adventure and fantasy, and it does so in a way that is pleasing to the eye by using techniques such as grouping information, using a grid system to balance the page, and carefully choosing a font.