Printing process

The addition of another colour presented a problem prior to the screen printing process. The main concern was aligning the red stripes of the bars to the gaps in the block black colour. A misalignment and the poster loses its impact.
Speaking to Mike from the print room and receiving feedback on the issue, mono printing the block of red would be a better solution than to tediously align each print.
Mono printing the background allows screen printing to be a one colour process which produces a more reliable outcome, limiting the potential problems.

A limiting factor of the mono print process is how much pressure the press exerts on the lino. Little pressure and the print produces a textured finish that although is desirable for analog printing, it is not appropriate for the context of the poster. The logo's impact is lost with a textured finish, therefore a solid even register is desirable as shown below.

Textured monoprint finish

Even registration

With a solid block of red underneath, the black screen print turns a dark burgundy that almost gives the poster a 'glow'. In the sense that the red is showing through the slight translucency of the black screen print.

In preparation for the screen print, the mono printed square was purposely made smaller to reduce misalignment issues. The redesign has also noticeably reduced the amount of information shown on the poster. With how brief people give their attention to posters in the public space, the poster is aimed to communicate the name of the event and its logo. The visual impact drives curiosity from the reader to look in further into Light Night.

Left: One press. Right: Second over print.

The issue of producing a less than even registration of the red mono print kept persisting. It was only in the second run of printing did the idea of mono printing twice come about. The extra effort ensures a solid block colour as seen above.

In many ways the design of the poster has been influenced by the personal readings on the history of poster designs by Müller-Brockmann and looking into the work of modernist designers.

The design is a very graphic approach to the event with a considered grid system and placement of the elements whilst the logo concept is a simple idea that has been represented through abstraction. This is a trait I noticed in most of their design rationales. The simplicity of the logo allows for multiple interpretations and a design that can be applied to various formats.