Proposal

In project MP01 I intend to comment on and question coexistence with artificial intelligence in an ironic fashion. I aim to do so through creating a series of posters created in the style of early to mid-1900s propaganda advertising which will bluntly demonstrates artificial intelligence as a tool that outperforms humans in most of their everyday activities. The posters will each advertise a different Artificial Intelligence product in a sarcastic manner. The pre-1950s styling of the poster refers to a time when posters were one of the main sources of visual communication before the invention of commercials on television. The idea with this design style is to also explore Marshall McLuhan’s famous phrase: “the medium is the message.”

The poster as a form communication today doesn’t hold the same potency of manipulative qualities they used to have. Today we mostly see dynamic advertisements which are more engaging. This investigates the way these products would look if they were made before the time of televised advertisements. Seeing an outdated style of posters advertising products from the future creates a contradictory visual experience. The style is also meant to represent a time where propaganda posters were used to manipulate.

As part of my research I will be looking at WWI and WWII propaganda posters, as well as early 1900s advertisement posters. I will also be looking at Ashley Havinden’s work as a source of influence. In terms of type I plan on using fonts like Futura, Universe, Gill Sans, and Erbar-Grotesk. I will be sticking to typefaces that have a more geometrical appearance. This will complement design elements which will also have some geometrical presence. My next steps are to start making sketching compositions and start making iterations.