Poster For Jimi Hendrix Essay

No matter where we go or where we are, design seems to be everywhere. Design has a very broad spectrum, anywhere from design in art to design in technology. Design allows us to enter our imagination and look at what is in front of us, in different and creative ways. When we look at the elements and principles of design, we think of it as pieces of a puzzle. In order to create a work of design, we must be able to use both element and principle pieces to complete the puzzle. Waldemar Swierzy’s Poster for Jimi Hendrix created in 1974 is a perfect example of the presentation of design elements and principles. By using the design elements of colour and line with the principles of emphasis and balance, Swierzy was able to create a better understanding of the poster’s message for the viewers. The line is the most fundamental element of design. When we think about what a line is, we usually think about a point moving in a straight direction, but lines can have many more qualities. In Swierzy’s poster we find him using less of the common straight lines and more wavy and

An emphasis of a design separates this point and allows us to focus on the main idea or message of the visual. Though the poster is a monochromatic scheme and is hard to find a focal point within the same colour, Swierzy made Hendrix’s face a focal point of the poster by adding dark contouring and shading on his face. If Swierzy completed the poster without defining Hendrix’s face, the poster would have just turned out like any other person. But because Hendrix’s face was brought out, viewers have seen that it is Hendrix’s face and are able to focus on his face and have a better understanding of the poster’s message. After analyzing the poster, it is evident that Swierzy successfully used colour, line, emphasis and unity as elements and principles to successfully depict the emotional message of the poster. Jimi Hendrix was a very