Graphic Design - 2019
Mad Max 1979
In this project, I wanted to reimagine marketing material for the original Mad Max film from 1979. I created a dynamic poster inspired by the vernacular of the Mad Max universe. I wanted metal, rust, texture, and destruction to reveal the poster's content over a given period.
objective
This project aimed to explore how to make static visual content more dynamic and exciting. The content had to respond and change to natural elements without human interaction. The movie poster is intended to be displayed outdoors and change with the natural elements. If tested/calculated correctly, the movie poster can display all the content at a given time, like a Polaroid that slowly develops.
Approach
Inspired by the rusty and gritty vernacular of Mad Max, I experimented with using metal as the basis and rust or oxidization as a medium to display content. Raw untreated mild steel rusts fairly quickly under natural conditions, so to form the rust in readable content, I used a large format UV printer to print the masking layers.
Pre-Treatment
Using a large format flatbed printer, I masked off areas of the metal surface that I did not want to rust. The mask was a thick transparent UV ink which allowed the metallic surface to be visible. White ink was used for the Mad Max wordmark on both sides of the poster.
Accelerated conditions
To rapidly test the 'development' process of the rust, I accelerated the oxidization process by spraying the metal surface with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, table salt, and vinegar. The exposed metal rusted instantly, revealing the content.
The Final Result
The front and back of the poster revealed high-contrast text from the oxidation process. The front of the poster contains a partial cropping of the Mad Max wordmark with an outlined "Now Showing Everywhere" covering the whole poster. The back of the poster includes the full transcribed narration of the Mad Max trailer. The rust and metal texture truly convey the destructive spirit of the movie.
ever-changing
After many months, the poster surface transforms by itself to reveal intriguing new textures and oxidization patterns. Uniquely the poster is very much alive and breaks the short-lived static life of a traditional movie poster.
