Studio Brief 2 - Object - Egyptian Timekeeping Posters

British Museum Egyptian Timekeeping posters

The initial obelisk and water clock drawings made on Word were adapted to use a golden colour scheme which reflects the sandy coloured stone that the Egyptians would build with. The water clock design had to be simplified further because the original was a lot more detailed than the obelisk drawing. Removing the interior markers created more flat area which tied in more with the obelisk image. Printing the designs on cream coloured paper was effective in continuing the stone coloured theme. If this concept was continued designs would also be created for a Merkhet which was a time keeping device used in the darkness. When researching hieroglyphics, it was found that there were specific symbols for water, sun, and the moon. These symbols would relate to the different time keeping devices, water for the water clock, sun for the obelisk and the moon for the Merkhet. Creating a minimal layout and colour scheme reflects a sense of Egyptian art. By centrally aligning all the elements this creates a natural linear flow from one element to the next. The use of a serif typeface creates a traditional feel to the poster and reflects the history of the subject. However, the typography title and hieroglyphic elements seem out of proportion to the image, which could be enlarged to be more of a focus.

In the following designs the image has been enlarged to be more dominant in the posters. By using a colour swatch from a photograph of an obelisk, this has allowed a more complementary colour scheme, which creates contrast between elements. By making the exhibition name the largest and placing a subheading underneath creates contrast between the two elements as well as looking cohesive. By separating the logo, titles and further information into groups, similar information is expressed together and breaks the text up. The light brown and sandy colour scheme are effective; however, the greatest contrast was created between the blue and sandy yellow colour. Text has also been sized so that the most important elements are the largest, this directs the eye between information and leaves the details as the smallest information. The image although most effective centrally on its own, made it difficult to place the other information around it. By placing the image to the right this allowed more space for the information to be positioned. Enlarging the image so that it stretched the full length of the page creates the sense that the beam of light is coming from outside the poster.