Vintage-Inspired Movie Posters

In a world of highly photoshopped photography, ubiquitous type treatments, drop shadows and lens flares, it’s refreshing to see design that holds it roots in traditional practice. It’s important to remember that a computer program is a tool–and not a shortcut to effective design. Often, it’s necessary to rid a design of any elements that would not be able to be produced by physical tools, whether it be ink on paper, film, silk-screen, woodblock or letterpress. In all areas of design, one must consider the origins of each element, such as the lead bars that separated lines of wood type, now digitized as ‘leading’ that adjusts with the click of a mouse.

Below are striking examples of movie posters that honor traditional methods, giving them rich, vintage-inspired compositions. Though surely produced with the help of computers, each maintains an honesty that is becoming increasingly difficult to find.

Black Swan- La boca; Rocketeer- John Mattos; Miles- Health Killen; Inception- Laz Marquez; Zombieland- Mark Welser