Gene Siskel Film Center Poster Invitation

This is a poster by Jamie Koval for the Gene Siskel Film Center honoring Morgan Freeman for winning the Renaissance Award. The design is simple and elegant, but till very dynamic and engaging. The coloring, lighting, contrast, and strong portraiture of Morgan Freeman brings about a strong presence and personality to the poster. It definitely grabs attention and gives a sense of Freeman's character. The photo really grounds the design and gives stability. Whereas, the typography brings movement and rhythm to the composition. A serif font was chosen to complement the elegance of the concept. However, Koval does a beautiful job in making the traditional typeface a bit more modern and fun by adding thin diagonal lines to create a sense of motion. To further the perception of motion, Koval purposefully cuts the words in half, but in a subtle way with the lines so that it would not take away from the photo. I also thought the way the typography was done was a great concept for a cinema poster because the moving words feel like a movie reel or title sequence. Overall, this is a very effective design that is able to feature Morgan Freeman for his award in a very stylish and sophisticated way. 

Pedersen, B. Martin. "The Gene Siskel Film Center Poster Invitation." Graphic Design Annual 2016: 147. Editorial.