Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Beggarstaff Style: Let the subject fill half the sheet and set margins by trimming
- Type
- Set in Beggarstaff Style's manner (Cut the letters from paper too, treating them as shapes not type), and let Plakatstil / Sachplakat's lettering (A short, heavy hand-drawn headline) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Beggarstaff Style's material (Scissors on colored paper, shifting pieces until the shape count drops); bring in exactly one thing from Plakatstil / Sachplakat (Two to four colors, shadowless imagery, clean contours).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #161515, #d39a29, #efe0bf.
Where they fight
- Beggarstaff Style and Plakatstil / Sachplakat share no intent, so the contrast has to become the subject rather than something to smooth over.
- Both belong to Advertising Posters, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Beggarstaff Style Adding outlines back to explain the shape kills the tension the omission created and leaves an ordinary illustration that merely uses few colors.
- Plakatstil / Sachplakat Simplification is not omission. Choose the one thing to keep from what makes the product itself.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Beggarstaff Style (Style, 1894–1899) and its accent from Plakatstil / Sachplakat (Style, 1900s–1910s). Structural cues: Flat cut-paper shapes; Omitted contours; Large fields of few colors; Boldness that looked unfinished. Accent cues, used sparingly: A single product image; Bold contours; Flat color; A short brand name. Composition: Let the subject fill half the sheet and set margins by trimming. Type and lettering: Cut the letters from paper too, treating them as shapes not type. Let one material quality come from the second style: Two to four colors, shadowless imagery, clean contours. Mood: Rebellion, Calm, Luxury, Trust, Exhilaration, Nostalgia. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #161515, #d39a29, #efe0bf. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Beggarstaff Style 1894–1899 / Style / Advertising Posters
Nicholson and Pryde's cut-paper poster style: contours dropped, subjects summarized in flat shapes of few colors. Commercially unsuccessful in its day, its radical economy anticipated the 20th-century poster.
- Plakatstil / Sachplakat 1900s–1910s / Style / Advertising Posters
Cuts advertising down to the product and its name, delivering meaning at a glance from across the street.
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