If there is one thing I love more than design, its movies!

Perhaps the easiest way for me to appreciate both movies and design is through the art of movie poster design.

Creating aesthetically impressive movie posters that captivate the public is one of the key factors in drawing people to a movie. It’s all marketing really!

Sometimes people will rock up at a movie house with little or no idea of what movies are actually showing. This is where this art form is most effective in reeling in movie-goers.

2011 was jammed packed full of some seriously amazing movies, which were backed by some equally incredible movie posters.

Here are my Top 6 movie posters of 2011

First up we have the Green Hornet. This remake, made famous by Bruce Lee, was highly anticipated by fans of the original series as well as ‘Lee Acolytes’. Unfortunately the movie was weak at best and picked one of the worst possible actors possible for the role of the Green Hornet, Seth Rogen (he was also one of the writers…sigh). Luckily the movie poster was insanely cool and was both dark and enticingly hardcore. Great angle and the way the Green Hornet logo is created by the headlights is also super slick.

Limitless was one of 2011’s most inventive and exciting flicks. Not only did Neil Burger do a superb job of directing, but Bradley Cooper also knocked the leading role out of the park! The movie poster is a vibrant sectioned design which captures the fast paced high-rolling lifestyle of the protagonist and exudes his ‘limitless’ potential.

Grungy, heavy and riddled with action! Suckerpunch was one of those movies that was awesome, but which could have been so much better, huge potential and probably my best movie soundtrack of 2011. It is easy to see why the younger male demographic they were targeting would find it difficult not to stare at this movie poster. The amalgamation of mecha, dragons and weapon wielding hotties is definitely attractive. 

The Super 8 movie poster instantly grabbed my attention because of the irregular perspective of the silhouetted landscape. When I first saw the poster from a distance I didn’t even see the town and the people, it actually looked like some weird dark cloudy planet with a hazy white atmosphere. Can you see what I mean? This really used negative space to maximum effect. Nice flick, rocking movie poster….great job ;)

Fast Five – not really my kinda movie, def one for gear heads and people who enjoy a bit of mindless action! On the flip-side their movie poster was damn cool. The oppressively atmosphere really sets it apart from the posters of the previous movies. The way it looks like they are driving into darkness/danger is a nice touch. The rippling neon streaks and blurs are indispensible with conveying the sense of speed! Well put together and visually explosive

My final choice is also my favourite movie poster of 2011, Captain America. The movie was loads of fun and set a great tone for the upcoming Avengers movie…which is going to be crazy amazing!!!
The poster itself captures the spirit of Captain America perfectly. He is an imposing force a shield that blocks the country he loves from the terror of evil men. The grungy feel of the poster and the explosion of dirt behind him shows his strength in the face of danger…remember, cool guys don’t look at explosions ;)
I like the solemn look on his face seems to hint at an impending sadness or annihilation, as if he is bowing his head at a funeral. When you combine this fact with the before mentioned “Imposing” stance it seems to hint at how Captain America is willing to shoulder the burden of war and tragedy for his country at any cost!

There have already been a barrage of amazing movie posters in 2012 and we are not even half-way through. My favourite movie poster for 2012 thus far is undoubtedly for Prometheus…which is also likely to be my favourite movie of the year as well.

What were your favourite movie posters of 2011?
Post them below and let us know what you like about them!