PECHA KUCHA
Brief: Design a poster that will be used by the De La Warr Paviliuon in Bexhill to promote their PechaKucha speaking nights
Devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham architecture in 2003, the first PechaKucha night was held in Tokyo in their creative space SuperDeluxe. Presented as informal gatherings, PechaKucha nights bring together creatives for an evening of sharing, discussing and engaging. The format 20 x 20, a simple presentation arrangement where by twenty images are shown for exactly twenty seconds, asserts an interesting and unique platform for presenting. Speakers are given the challenge of highlighting their points, theories or ideas in a snap amount of time, with the images advancing automatically speakers have to be concise, in turn allowing the audience to retain their interest and engagement. PechaKucha nights are global, represented in over 900 hundred cities worldwide, they allow a stage for creatives to be heard through an analogue portrayal, a rare opportunity in a world over polluted with digital conversions.
From the get go I wanted to create a poster that captured the essence of PechaKucha, describing the ideals of sharing a discussion through diverse and dynamic conversions rather that the topics of the presentation. Networking, meeting and sharing were at the forefront of my initial sketches, I wanted to try and visualise the imagery of discussion, and global networking, so I played with concepts surrounding the mouth and talking as well as explorations into the world and global collaborations. Through my sketches I felt the approach to designing a poster around diverse conversation was the stronger idea; going forward I analysed poster design and iconic artist such as Saul Bass, Henri Matisse and Abraham Games who all adopted a simplistic visual style. This minimal process of playing with basic forms and shapes intrigued me, Bass, Matisse and Games all had a great understanding of delivering eye catching imagery through the essential.
Inspired by the basic form, I transferred my initial sketches to the practice of collage and cut outs. Using paper and scissors forced myself to stick to the primary shapes, such as triangles and circles, after experimenting with a selection of different layouts I settled for one that worked best for my design. Following I scanned all assets into the computer and generated the final poster on Ps. The information and details such as the facial features I added on the computer for accuracy and ease; then I adopted a hand written approach to the typography because I felt it work well with the cut out imagery, in turn balancing a analogue and tactile feel to the poster. Colouring was a tricky aspect to the design, I wanted subtlety yet boldness, the poster has to capture the audiences eye but not scream attention. In the end I created a pallet of muted blues and reds, having a darker and lighter version of each colour contrast one another, in turn enabling accents to be highlighted without having to shout. The three final designs are playful, colourful and engaging. The illustrated faces retain the information, but ultimately hold a discussion which is the essence of PechaKucha and the ideologies I wanted to capture.
After the first critique I was advised to use a different typeface for the information, as the hand-written approach although works well visually does not practically, from a distance the text was hard to read and understand. However the illustrations and the idea of presenting a diverse conversation through cut outs was liked. Returning to the drawing board I ended up creating a completely new design, yet that still captured my initial ideals. Using the same process and imagery that I created on my first poster designs I adopted a new layout, using one illustrated cut out face placed at the centre I projected the cut out triangles representing speech flowing around the face. This in turn identifies PechKucha’s identity to inform through sharing and diversity. I added a yellow and light grey to the colour palette to help crispin and ignite the poster; with the text I ignored my initial explorations into hand written type instead I embraced the basic font of Avenir, which clarifies the information better than my first attempt.
Overall I feel both poster designs work well and successfully react to the brief, yet I prefer the imagery and layout of the second. It feels more complete and rounded, having one illustrated cut out face pointed at the centre attracts attention more than having several, and the adapted colours I feel are more aesthetically pleasing and attractive to the eye. However one draw back for me is the type, although having Avenir is more functional and accessible to the audience, I feel the hand written approach supports and balances the visual illustrations in a more creative way. Ultimately the final chosen poster is exciting, engaging and informative through a illustrative approach, the poster speaks for PechaKucha and identifies diversity, sharing and networking.