So the designer didn’t get paid in 2018 for something he designed, but he did get paid for this? He is an English teacher doing side gig quick and dirty graphic design work with no design education specifically?
I studied design, specifically architecture, but the university I attended required overlap in the design disciplines. Upon seeing the Tina D. & Wendy Wu posters the first time, it looked amateurish and efficient ( we have seen those photos before). While not professional, they are very personal. To Morrissey himself. Is that why they were chosen? Does he like his appearance? The way he is interacting with the ladies? What were they saying to each other? What was the context? It just seems very personal, a good time being had.
I looked at those two posters and thought “Hmm, why those?”, prone to over-analyzing, but eventually giving up getting hung up on them because. . . They are personal, maybe nostalgic, maybe some significance we can never know unless we were party to what was happening. I thought the font was familiar but fresh enough. Just something about those poster choices seemed extremely personal, maybe an inside meaning. And that did come off a bit negative as a”you’re not really in on the joke or the fun.” A little exclusive. Like you would just walk on by those people who looked like they could only be comfortable with themselves. And critically, it’s not like they look super cool. . . There’s no fantasy going on in those photos. Those photos are real. So they are not even really inviting you to join them. The people in them seem like they’re enjoying themselves together but you’re not invited, but you don’t really care. The photos used just seem to capture a real memory for Morrissey that has meaning to him. And I’m good with that. Maybe Morrissey just wants to seem more real, less of a stage image. Is it iconic imagery? I personally don’t find it iconic.
Now, the backdrop stage image definitely has more going on and has the iconic going on. Something about the spacing on the font (“with”) placement and size drives me nuts though. I wish the designer had made “with” a bit smaller for some reason. “With” being slightly smaller would have put more emphasis on the other lines. As for color, it works fine, and sounds like it needed to be produced quickly. The color captures a lively spirit with humor.
Sometimes designers are fine producing work that can help build their portfolios. I can see how some fans/people here are bothered by the grassroots tendencies going on and think Morrissey deserves slicker marketing. It certainly all remains authentic at least.
Business stuff with Morrissey, whether he is a real jerk, I don’t know, but most people aren’t just one thing. I don’t feel like wasting too much breath on that, but I definitely will get long winded over the posters/graphic work.
dickiefelton.com
