In doing research for a school poster project, I came upon the work of Ed Ruscha. He's a conceptual and quirky drawer / painter / photographer / designer extraordinaire. In this series of paintings, Ruscha conveys the hedonistic beliefs and bohemian ideals of the Beat Generation, who longed for meaning and happiness in post-WWII America. It makes perfect sense then that this line of posters is inspired by and uses quotes from one of my all-time favorite novels, "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac.
These paintings were made in the 1950s and are simple in design, yet complex in message. Made with acrylic paint on canvas and museum board paper, I admire Ruscha's use of clean typography set against both abstract and mountainous backgrounds. I would really, really like one of these blown up on my apartment walls (my faves are the first and fifth designs).
As I created my Ruscha-inspired poster for my Typographic Design Class, I tried to keep those same design principles while infusing the poster with my own design style. The final product will be revealed very soon (once I have time to reduce the size on the ginormous 22 x 35-inch file).
