Topos Graphics
Brooklyn, NY
toposgraphics.com
Title: Minnesota RollerGirls present Capital Punishment
Company: Lovely Mpls
Category: Posters
Anyway you slice it, this is a real poster! It comes together with relevant and well-executed decisions while still impacting the viewer with its visceral (and multiple) design gestures—notably its cycloptic bullet hole. The poster’s shock value is certainly pertinent, but it does not rely on that alone. It follows-through in its careful attention to detail—though lewd, crude, and rude. I love that the sewn seam mimics the woman’s blouse seams and that the lipstick typography is illustrative of her seemingly charming innocence. And the picture’s color works—all warm and toasty; a kind of salmon-y veneered drama that need not be louder than the actions taken against the poster itself.
It also succeeds at showcasing what some design can achieve through the implementation (and combination) of alternative processes. Ultimately, it’s quite a physical remark on the idea that one cannot kill a lasting image—literally or figuratively. No matter what you do to the paper the image is printed on, there’s no turning away from a great and lasting impression–stabbed, shot, poisoned, hanged, electrocuted, drowned, burned, or otherwise. A beautiful woman cradling a roller-skate for the RollerGirls event is just that kind of image. What the designer has done to it/her is indicative of the attitude the event no doubt boasts.
It kicks ass