"True Crime" Visual Design Poster

For HCDE 308, a course on Visual Communication, our midterm project was to create a polished poster inspired by a song lyric that showcases our work in typography and visual systems. The song I chose was True Crime by DREAMERS, and the lyric I used was "True crime, water into wine / Woke up with the wool over my eyes." The purpose of this poster was to display this song lyric using typeface, composition, and image choices that would effectively and seamlessly present the feeling behind the lyrics. 

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In the first composition, I wanted to convey a feeling of increasing danger, elegance, and fluidity. To accomplish this, I used continuity and an axial typographic system on “water into wine” so that the eye is led in a diagonal flow down to the cup and the darker red. The red gradient further emphasizes the feeling of increasing danger, and the monochromatic palette and the minimalistic image both create a feeling of elegance. 

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In the second composition I wanted to convey a feeling of danger and deception transitioning to awareness. To accomplish this, the mask effect on “wool over my eyes” symbolizes deception, and the red-hued crime scene emphasizes the danger and the awareness (knowing that a crime has happened). I used a right-justified text to isolate the figure, making them appear as a witness.

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The two compositions are connected by color and typeface. The first poster moves from grey to red and the second poster moves from red to blue, showing a shift from increasing danger to increasing awareness (of that danger).