Merewether Surf Comp
Poster Design by Gemma Cox
Hi Gemma! Tell us a little bit about Merewether Surf Comp! What inspired you the most when it came to designing this series of posters?
Merewether Surf Comp is actually a fictional surf comp. There are definitely surf competitions that happen throughout the year on the Newcastle coastline but none that I know of that are specifically for Merewether. I felt instantly inspired by and drawn to the movement of water and the ocean when considering how to use kinetic type.
"I’ve grown up in the area all my life and am just learning how to surf myself, so designing a surf-themed poster series was natural choice for the assessment."
Did you have a particular audience in mind when you were designing these posters? If so, how did your audience influence the design choices you made?
I definitely had a younger audience in mind when designing the posters as many of the local Newcastle surfers are young adults, though I tried to keep hints of traditional surf posters in the design as I worked as to appeal to a greater audience.
"I felt instantly inspired by and drawn
to the movement of water and the
ocean when considering how to use
kinetic type."
Talk us through your choice of typeface and use of kinetic typography. How do these choices elevate your message?
The typeface I chose was a clean, bold, condensed typeface to make the title really stand out. This was important to make it legible, especially as I worked to distort the text into the shape of a wave. By designing the title to create the iconic ocean shape, I hope to create a standout design that can be interpreted at a glance without even reading the text.
How have you used hierarchy and layout to balance all the elements of your poster design?
The hierarchy was the element of the design that required the most attention and suffered the most change. I drew inspiration from other posters which successfully highlighted the most important pieces of information by various means which gave me some ideas of how to successfully set the poster up. The first thing the eye will be drawn to is the enlarged title text, the gaze then naturally moving down to the dates of the event in bold underneath. Additional information and sponsor logos sit underneath as the next most important part of the poster.
"The colours I have chosen pay tribute
to current popular surf culture where vibrant colours are prevalent in boards and apparel."
The colours you use are very bright and eye-catching! Why have you chosen to make 3 posters, and what inspired your choice of colours?
As a designer, I naturally shy away from bold colours. The colours I have chosen pay tribute to current popular surf culture where vibrant colours are prevalent in boards and apparel. There are three posters, the palette of each representing a different time of day – an allusion to the ‘all day’ timeframe of the event.
How does your poster design differ/stand out from other surf competition posters?
While the style of poster follows a similar path to other surf posters in that it represents a surfer and a wave, the posters I have designed use the text to represent the wave and utilise vibrant colours not often seen in surf competition posters.
