Design in Film Posters 4-'Jaws': We're gonna need a bigger boat

Design in Film posters is back! This week I'll be looking at the poster from another of my all time favorite movies: Jaws, just in time for Halloween!

The Jaws poster has become an iconic one in cinema. It is immediately recognizable with the famous picture of THE shark and the vulnerable image of the woman swimming. The great, simplistic design of the poster is really what has made this image last and be so recognizable after 35 years. There are many design elements and simple techniques that really make this poster. First I love the use of scaling and perspective in the framing and contrast of the shark with the woman. The image of the shark is scaled way up in proportion to the rest of the poster so as to seem even larger and more menacing in contrast to the woman at the top of the frame. Next is the great, subtle use of color throughout the whole poster. Framing the actual picture inside a black frame helps create a darker overall tone, as does the use of red for the title of the film. The water itself is uses a blue gradience across it to add a sense of depth to the ocean, but also a darker ominous tone to the area around the shark. Finally there's an effective use of the space in the frame to keep the eye moving and create a sense of movement across the composition. The pointed figure of the shark seems to actually be moving up the poster while the much smaller woman seems stuck in her position, helpless from the shark.

This is a great poster that still, 35 years later, inspires fear into the minds of those who went and saw that very first summer blockbuster.