Art Director: Paul Kepple
Year: 2023
Time Frame: 3 months
OBJECTIVE
For my senior thesis project, I decided to pursue a film related concept since it’s something I’ve always enjoyed. I’ve done poster and media design for films before, but in a shorter time frame, so I wanted to commit an extended amount of time on the rebranding to get a better idea as to what I could accomplish with a more realistic timeline.
FILM & PROJECT CONCEPT
I chose to rebrand Benny & Josh Safdie’s film Good Time, a thriller movie that follows two brothers in a heist and its aftermath. Not only does this film have a recognizable cast and crew, but it also has a rich storyline, setting, and visual aesthetic that allowed me to dive deeper into the themes to create comprehensive elements and products.
The main deliverable would be the mailable press kit, a box sent out to help promote a product or brand. This press kit would feature the designed box, a screenplay book, a t shirt, tickets, and a physical version of the poster.
VISUAL IDENTITY
The aesthetic of the film features bright neon colors that contrast the darker night setting, which initially inspired me to pursue a vibrant color palette. The Safdie brothers are known for embracing the grit of the settings on their film, in this case Queens, NY. This led me to eventually incorporate a grainy spray paint texture to a lot of my text based elements.
THE POSTER
I began with my poster, which I finalized before I designed any other deliverables. This helped me create a solid brand identity before I applied it to everything else. I focused heavily on symbols and items that alluded to the film, but wouldn’t give anything away. If anything, I wanted to create a sense of curiosity for people who hadn’t seen the movie, and provide an “aha moment” for people who have seen it. A heavy influence within my poster design was derived from black light poster designs and their compositions and color scheme.
SCREENPLAY BOOK
After finalizing the poster, I started planning the screenplay book, a book that features the script, articles, photos, and interviews that give a “behind the scenes look” into the production of the movie. I wanted to continue the darker atmospheric theme but still utilize pops of glowing color.
SHIRTS
For the shirts, I wanted to utilize an element of transparency to mimic the bottle featured in the branding. I redesigned the bottle and flipped the text as if you were looking at it from behind, which I then applied to the back of the shirt. This allowed me to keep the important aspect of the branding but create something new and unique within the series of deliverables.
