My project 2 in J465 was all about influence. During this unit, I’ve learned about different design influences throughout history and specific designers who pioneered their own style. For this project to make a Little 500 poster through an influential designer, I chose to use Lester Beall.

About Lester Beall: (1903-1969) Beall was a self-taught graphic designer who began the modernist graphic design movement in the United States. His transformative work for that time period is described as effective visual communication. Beall is most famously known for the work he did for the Rural Electrification Administration, which advertised bringing electricity to rural America. His posters had bright colors and bold typography and were easily recognizable and clearly understood. 

I initially chose Lester Beall as my influence because I was instantly drawn to his designs. As a designer myself, I enjoy taking a minimalist approach and I like bold colors. Therefore, Beall was the perfect fit for my influence and I was really excited to complete this project because it was also a topic that is meaningful to me, the Little 500. 

Most of Beall’s famous posters are for the REA. If you research, there tend to be two approaches he designed for this specific campaign. One features a cutout photo against a primary colored background and different flat shapes and typography surrounding it. The other is similar but is based on an illustration with arrows instead of a photo. The approach I went with is the first option because I think that photography can add a lot to a design and the fun sayings in the boxes above the photos gave me a unique opportunity. For the photo, I found a picture of bikers and cut them out using Photoshop. I also added a sepia look to them since that is what most of Beall’s work had. Originally, I planned to make the background of my poster red for IU but decided against it because I liked how the cornflower blue looked with orange and I feel like it suited Beall’s work. I stuck with similar fonts to his to embody the full effect of his design. I also made sure that the block of text at the top of the page was skewed and not 180 degrees. An “easter egg” I wanted to include was the small type that says INDIANA at the top right part of the poster. On Beall’s posters, he always put his last name in small letters in the same spot, so I thought it would be effective to do the same with mine, but in relation to what the poster is about. One thing I added that his posters did not feature was the text about the men’s and women’s races. I felt like this was an appropriate placement for this information because it aligned with the shape behind it and wasn’t extremely noticeable at first glance.

Overall, I see Lester Beall’s influence reflected in my work by the colors, typography, shapes, and photos I chose. This project opened my mindset to other design elements that could work for me in future projects that aren’t what I would immediately choose on my own.