If you want to design a poster but find inspiration lacking, John Foster has some guidance for you: “If you run out of ideas, just put a big face on it. It always helps.”
Foster’s advice is worth hearing even when he’s speaking with tongue implanted in cheek. The vice president of Creative for the Alexandria-based design firm Fuszion and the author of “New Masters of Poster Design,” Foster knows a thing or four about what’s likely to catch the eye: a strong central image is key, as is expressive typography.
Foster’s done design work for clients from Pepsi to CNN, but the posters he makes to promote and commemorate concerts by the likes of Grizzly Bear, Voxtrot and Mercury Rev remain one of his key passions. He’ll speak on the topic of the music poster past and present at the University of Maryland Wednesday afternoon, part of the current exhibition, Sweet: The Graphic Beauty of the Contemporary Rock Poster. Besides Foster’s work, the show features contributions by internationally celebrated designers Jesse LeDoux, Diana Sudyka and Jason Munn, as well as local creators such as Anthony Dihle and Jeffrey Everett.
“Poster making is going through a renaissance,” Foster says. “You’ve got Starbucks and Target using the poster as their main messaging device. In Starbucks, there are posters of their products throughout the stores.” Simiarly, music fans have driven a resurgence in the “gig poster,” turning limited-edition, show-specific posters into sought-after collectibles.
Handmade silkscreen posters like the ones Foster creates are issued in limited runs and typically sell at shows for $25 and up. With their arresting permutations of color, graphics and typography, they can have an aesthetic value distinct from the music that inspires them. But they still allow fans to identify themselves with the bands they love in the same way concert T-shirts do. “Somebody can walk into your dorm room and see your Decembrists poster,” says Foster, “and they know a lot about you right away.”
