Do a search for Minimalist Movie Posters on Google these days and you'll get quite a few matches. The first time I saw a set of these over a year ago I appreciated the simple, clever take on posters that can sometimes be visually cluttered and busy.
However, creating your own set of movie posters seems to now be a rite of passage for every graphic designer. They have begun to clutter every design and culture site I visit, editors gushing with praise for each "innovative" take on movies of the past.
Now, you too can join in the fun! Here's what you do:
1. Pick a movie - Star Wars is a good start. Not only is it an obscure movie from the 80's that no one remembers (great indie cred!), but its one of the few minimal movie posters nobody has done yet!
2. Pick between 2 and 4 colors - Muted primary colors are good, black is best. Nothing is more minimal than black, except maybe white.
3. Pick a geometric shape - This shape should vaguely represent some character or scene from the movie. The more abstract the better. This way when people recognize it, they can praise you for how well you were able to capture such complex concepts with so little design. Circles are good.
4. Add the movie title - Make the title text extremely large and let Helvetica do some of the heavy lifting in your design. OR make your title extremely small to emphasise the negative space of your spartan work.
Voilá! You are now a design star.
