This summer's best one-sheets, assessed by an expert
BLAND TAGLINES. DODGY Photoshop. A main character staring morosely into the distance, flanked by tiny versions of their co-stars. Yes, modern movie posters can be a bit underwhelming — but, as graphic designer Ellen Lupton, the author of How Posters Work, points out, this summer’s blockbuster one-sheets are bucking the trend...
ASTEROID CITY
“This is really cool because Wes Anderson’s films are very distinctive in always having a big cast — and that list of names at the top is so enticing. But the poster doesn’t show us anybody. The star here is the asteroid: this gorgeous illustration that looks like something from a ’50s postcard. It’s a risky thing to not put any actors on the poster, but it works because [Anderson’s] films themselves are graphic design: every shot is like a two-dimensional composition. So it makes sense that he’d let graphic design be the star of the show here.”
BARBIE
“What catches my eye immediately is seeing Ryan Gosling with shaved legs. You’ve got to love it. No, the really striking thing with this poster is that it doesn’t even have the title of the film on it.
You don’t need it: the big, beautiful typography of that ‘B’ is channelling the toy’s logo, which is so recognisable. And of course they’ve already done so much cool promotion around this film, with the Barbie selfies on social media. There’s a big history of blue-sky backdrops on movie posters, too — the characters almost floating in space against the sky. This reminds me a little of the poster for [Robin Williams’] The World According To Garp.”
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE
“Graphic design is generally used in a very conservative way in the movie industry — most posters will usually just feature the leading man and/or leading woman. So to get the sense here of this huge crowd of characters is very exciting — you instantly understand this movie will be about the ensemble. The
