The brief for this task was to create an eye-catching poster that would be sent out to Searchlight's client base that promotes the September 2023 product showcase. There was no specific design directive I had to follow, and no specific branding guidelines except for the use of the Searchlight logotype. This allowed for a limitless interpretation.
Version 1
Version one used visually striking products and incorporated them into the poster directly by using the curvature the spherical lights had as a focal point for the main text, this aided in developing a more engaging and interactive outcome. The colour scheme was decidedly orange and black to serve as a subtle nod to the autumnal season in which the show would be held in without directly referencing it.
Ultimately, the company reviewed this version and wanted a more simplistic and straight forward approach.
Version 2
These iterations reference Searchlight's previous branding through the application of blue hues and maintaining a minimalistic approach, no products were used as to not single out a specific product and maintain impartiality to all that would be on offer.
Whilst still wanting to create an eye-catching poster, these outcomes experiment with using the 'G' of the Searchlight logo, enlarging it and applying the visual within the design process to create an abstract background. The second iteration overlays multiple versions of this shape which generates a busier, visually complex background. By layering the shapes on top of one another, a sense of depth in the artwork is achieved.
These versions were rejected for looking too on brand with previous Searchlight promotional material and desired to move away from the use of blue - instead the marketing department required a poster to directly reference the autumnal season in order to clearly visually convey the time of year the show was occurring and encouraged I draw aesthetic inspiration to inform my design choices.
Version 3
This collection of ideas was inspired by more traditional posters, making use of darker, olive greens, creams and orange to reference autumn more explicitly, with the limited application of serif fonts to create a more 'home spun', gentile appearance - in return the offer appears more welcoming and genuine and less corporate, emotionally devoid and distant.
I found these designs to be too busy, chaotic, the outcome needed to be more simple and prioritise the information over the aesthetic, the application of green doesn't work to the advantage of the overall look, it's too dark and clashes with the lighter tones used throughout the rest of the series of posters.
Final Poster + Email invitation confirmation
The final poster limits colour palette to orange and cream with a secondary colour of black only used to highlight corporate information more clearly to make it more distinctive. The minimalist approach to the structure of the text and the overall layout meant I had the space to apply imagery to the poster without cluttering the overall composition or over complicating the design. Orange leaves were chosen to compliment the established colour palette and directly reference the Autumnal season.
