Upon first encountering the sites with early transcripts, I was amazed at the presence of the same components being touted as the basics of good design.
I found excellent examples in the classic design posters. Two in particular that stood out were the Strand and Empire Theater posters. Both exhibited great contrast with color that was not overbearing. The repetition was achieved through spatial relationship. In the Empire poster repetition appeared in the lettering and the first letter of the theater’s name incorporated into show time information. The Strand's repetition is in the irregular shapes appearing behind the lone figure of a woman. The Empire gives a much better example of alignment with its slanted and curved lettering which is not conventional but strategically placed. The Strand used simple centering of the main object atop two circular discs with lettering centered above. It works because there is not much lettering. Proximity of the objects on the Empire's poster has like objects grouped around a sphere. The lone figure standing on the two discs on the Strand's poster are the only tangible objects; everything else is shadowy and behind the figure – still good proximity.
We have the current ideals about design because of what has been tried and put into practice for eons. Back then as now, a graphic designer's goal was and is to get a message across. They would naturally work toward making the work as appealing as possible. I believe these two posters achieved that goal.
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