Leica Print Design’s Take on “La Semaine De La Critique” Shows Class and Embraces Artistic Freedom
Directors, producers, scenographers and actors – the crème de la crème of the cinematic universe gather around for the iconic Cannes Film Festival. This haven for moving pictures shelters the past of the art and builds its future.
This living museum of moving pictures nurtures young talents through programs like “La Semaine de la Critique.” The program has been around for almost 50 years, providing space for names like Bernardo Bertolucci and Guillermo del Torro.
A camera giant like Leica is a partner and friend of “La Semaine de la Critique.” In Collaboration with Rprsnt, Index Studios designed a series of posters and spread for the German company to help present and celebrate Leica’s founder’s vision. You may also look into several professional print designers to see projects like this come to life.
The Leica Print Designs Speak a Thousand Languages, All Conveying One Message
A good graphic designer must connect the brand with its audience through visuals. Here, the overarching principle was to explore all the analogies between the eye of the photographer and of the camera – emphasizing the connection that breeds cinematographic art.
The circles found on the prints represent that connection. That’s why the designs are rich in circles and abstract shapes. The prints’ color palette symbolizes the sophistication of the said union, with a luxurious black-and-gold combination broken down through the use of white typography. It also elaborates on the long tradition of using Leica’s cameras for developing this union.
Leica Prints Opt for a Mix of Chaotic Placement and Orderly Geometry To Embody the Rule-Bending Bond Behind Breathtaking Films
One of the prints features a textured black background with three gold circles (one inside the other) in the bottom left and one on the right side, in the middle of the poster. The left-aligned texts are difficult to miss with their placement inside the right-sided circle. The bottom left corner also features the Leica logo, whereas the right corner shows the “La Semaine de la Critique” logo design.
There are also white wordmarks in a headline-style sans serif font positioned seemingly chaotically. However, like some of the best mind-bending films, chaos breeds order over time. So, the longer we look at the poster, the more we become aware of the order and hierarchy in the design.
Another iteration of the poster features the same black background. There are no circles on it, but abstract and geometrical gold figures positioned diagonally from the top left to the bottom right. One could argue that some of these elements form a pointing arrow, helping the viewer focus on the text. But that’s the strong suit of these posters – they leave lots of space for interpretation.
There are a couple more intriguing takes on the topic of the symbolic link between a director/photographer’s vision and the camera lenses.
Ranging from abstract to concrete, one of the posters depicts an oversized, simplistic silhouette of a person and the breadth of their vision running across their field of vision in a gold X. The viewpoint is colored red, and the figure looks through a gold circle representing the camera lens.
Index Studios’ Intriguing Print Designs for Leica Pays Homage to the Man Who Revolutionized the Cinematic World
There’s also a triple rendition with a white background. The first page features an early Leica camera cropped beneath the headlined black and red text on the left. On the right, the poster lets us get into more depth through a compelling copy supported by the bolded tagline in the bottom corner.
The second page follows a similar pattern, except that the camera has now been scaled down, and its position has shifted upwards. The tagline has switched sides and now stays where the camera used to be.
Finally, the third page keeps the same layout as the previous one with a significant element added - the bottom right corner now features a black-and-white drop-shadowed picture of a man pivotal to Leica’s long history. The portrait of Oskar Barnack, the inventor of the 35mm still-camera, who revolutionized not only the company but the cinematic world itself.
