My Adventures with Superman Season 2 Poster Reverse Engineered

 Original Poster (Source: Warner Brothers Discovery)

Introduction

For this project, I have chosen the season 2 poster for the show 'My Adventures with Superman'. This post is currently being used in the promotional media advertising this show, and is distributed and created by Warner Brothers Discovery. Because this is a large company behind the show, it's hard to pinpoint an original creator, and is quite possible that this poster was created by a large team of promotional artists. However, we do know that this same poster was first shared to social media (albeit, in a different ratio to fit better on Instagram) by the voice actor Jack Quaid. This is my break down of the design elements in this poster.

Analysis

There are many ways to apply the principles of design, but for this assignment I will be focusing on the principles of contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity, and color.

Contrast

A gradient map across the poster, showing how the light blue color (top right) transitions to a darker navy (bottom left).

Immediately from the moment we first look at the poster, there is an abundant amount of contrast. The main characters are centered in the top right of the poster in brightly colored outfits. These colors stand out against the dark blue chosen to represent the location of outer space that they are in. In the top right corner where they are located, the background is also noticeably brighter, due to the lighter blue that fades the further away our eyes travel from the characters. This contrast in background color draws the eyes to focus on them immediately, and only as we travel away from them in the direction of the gradient (from light to dark) do we notice all the asteroids and space debris in the background.

Repetition

An image of the poster, with everything but the debris blurred

Repetition is an important element of design when creating anything from a brochure to a poster. While there are a few other repeating elements in this poster (like a few font choices and character designs) I wanted to focus on pieces of the background. What really pulls this whole scene together in the poster is the space debris. It's hard to tell without the context of the show whether these pieces are from an asteroid or a wrecked spaceship, but what we do know is all of these pieces have the general shape and color as each other. This displays repetition, or at least some sort of unity of these pieces than anything else in this image. The rest of the space is comprised of stars and Earth in the background, but only the wreckage holds the same sort of appearance.

Alignment

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel (Left) with God reaching to Adam, and the poster (Right) with Superman (Clark Kent) reaching to Supergirl

Now, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel painting of God reaching out to Adam may not be the first thing that comes to mind when looking at the poster for the second season of a tv show based around Superman's origin. But when looking at the alignment of the characters in the poster, you notice that Superman reaching out to Supergirl resembles in some way that classic painting. What brings that to mind so specifically is how we have our main characters that we have met before all huddled together at the top right and Supergirl by herself at the bottom right of the poster. Even more so, Superman and Supergirl both have their arms outreaching in a vertical light, perfectly aligned with each other, mirroring each other in symmetry. 

Proximity

(From Left to Right) Lois, Clark, and Jimmy encircled by a red oval in the top right corner, and Supergirl encircled in a smaller red oval in the bottom right corner

As stated in the above paragraph, we have two groups in the poster, each shown to have their own alignment. To add to the alignment, these characters are also in two groups of proximity. Superman and his friends are very close together in the top right corner, which shows their friendship and familiarity towards each other. This is apparent in not only how they are placed together, but also how we can see their faces and expressions. We the audience are shown their faces because we know who they are from the previous season and are well adjusted to how they react as characters. But Supergirl is placed in the bottom right corner with her back to the camera. She is placed alone and away from the viewpoint not just because we as the audience have never met her before in this show, but because our main characters haven't interacted with her before this point either. The gap between the two sets of characters shows how distant they are, but their outreaching hands (from both of them) shows how they want to introduce themselves to each other and get to know one another better. This also displays them taking a risk in meeting, because as we can see from Clark's face, there is some concern in this interaction.

Color

The entire poster in greyscale except for the color red which is highlighted on the main characters.

Color is a major part of how we perceive an image or object. We as a society have come to connect every color with some sort of feeling and/or emotion. This poster is no different. From the start, we are drawn to the two kryptonians because of the red on their superhero suits. This red is typically linked to honor and hope which is also the message of Superman. But more importantly the red contrasts immediately with the blue gradient of the background. Blue in these shades is typically represented with dark, cold feelings, which is the best way to describe the vastness of space. Lois (right) is wearing a light yellow spacesuit, reminiscent of a happy upbeat emotion that defines her character well. Jimmy (right)  however, is wearing a dark navy blue spacesuit (which makes him almost invisible with the shades of blue surrounding him) that represents the emotions of knowledge and level headedness. He is usually the character who holds the group together, and is more emotionally mature than the other characters.

Conclusion

Design principles are essential to getting your message across. This is done well in the Season 2 poster for My Adventures with Superman, usually with subtle hints at character relationships via alignment and emotions with the colors they are wearing. When you combine the design principles of contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity, and color, your message can become much more meaningful and accepted by the audience you are trying to reach.