2. 1920’s
Film posters have
been in
production since
the years of
1920. The two
posters you can
see and hand
made as there
were no
technologies
available at this
time. Posters in
the 1920’s usually
depicted scenes
from the film and
were hand drawn
to show a very
traditional poster.
3. 1930’s
In the 1930’s
posters were
still hand drawn
but now they
focused more
on the faces of
the characters
rather than clips
from the film.
To make the
posters more
interesting
bolder
typography also
came into use
with more eye
catching
colours.
4. 1940’s
In the 1940’s
character
illustrations
became a very
common theme
on posters, again
with much
experimentation
of fonts and
layouts. Scene
depictions were
not very often
used any more as
setting, colours
and character
became more
attractive to the
audiences.
5. 1950’s
In 1950’s posters
began to use
different
conceptual ideas,
such as the ‘Love in
the afternoon’
poster which
includes no
characters, just
different colours
and fonts which are
partnered with
subtle clues as to
what the film may
be about. This
could be the basis
of the evolution for
the now known
teaser poster.
Other posters were
still being hand
drawn as in singing
in the rain.
6. 1960’s
In the 1960’s,
posters started
focusing on
the
typography on
the poster
rather than
the images.
Images were
still illustrated
and included,
but the style
of fonts and
their layout on
the page
become a
much more
prominent
feature than
the image.
7. 1970’s
In the 1970’s,
because of the
fast movement
in the design
industry,
photographs
made their first
appearance on
some film
posters. They
began to take up
the majority of
the poster and
the text began to
play a less
dominant role
on the page.
8. 1980’s
In the 1980’s
posters began to
look a lot like we
see them today,
with a good
balance of picture
and writing, a large
photographic
background, a
common colour
scheme, and iconic
imagery of fonts
used on the page.
Photographs had
now become very
popular on posters
but illustrations
were still used.
9. 1990’s
The 1990’s were a
time where posters
become quite
structured. They had
simple or
photographic
background, with
slogans and/or actors
names at the top of
the page or above
the title of the film.
Now photographs in
posters were pretty
much always used
and there was a big
experimentation of
iconic fonts. Writing
began to suit the
page much more by
experimenting with
styles, layouts and
sizes.
10. 2000’s
• The 2000’s was a
time when image
manipulation came
into play, with
programs such as
Photoshop evolving,
so did movie posters.
Although images and
fonts progressed a lot,
the layouts often
remained the same as
in the 80’s and 90’s.
Designers now know
what works and don’t
work on movie
posters and therefore
the progression has
not been so much in
layout but more so in
evolution of fonts and
technology.
11. What I learnt...
Seeing the progression of these posters have
made me realise that the image itself is going to
be the most effective piece on my page.
Therefore I will have to have an iconic picture
with correct/effective cinematography use. The
text will also be very important; seeing the
previous posters I like it when there is just one or
two fonts used and they are placed in a position
that does not take the shine away from the image
but contributes to an effective layout.
