Tuesday, August 27, 2024

How to design an anti-design poster

How to design an anti-design poster
Final product imageFinal product imageFinal product image
What You'll Be Creating

The anti-design movement, as the name implies, is a style that ignores all rules proposed by traditional graphic design. Many artistic movements are considered anti-design, like Dada and De Stijl, due to their strong opinions on politics, society, and art.

While some of these anti-design styles are rooted almost 100 years ago, this is a style that has never stopped evolving. Recently, we've seen the popularity of the 'graphic design is my passion' meme, poking fun at graphic designers and their intense love for design. 

Inspired by the latest memes, we have a tutorial for you that will make you explore design in a different way. Anti-design often means free expression, tons of personality, strong vibes, fun, and rebellion. Let's get started!

What you’ll need

For this tutorial, you’ll need access to Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. You’ll also need a few graphic assets from Envato:

What you’ll learn

In the process of creating this anti-design poster, you’ll learn to:

  • Create a diffused, grungy background
  • Use guides in Adobe InDesign
  • Break all the rules you've learned about graphic design
  • Explore different approaches to an anti-design poster

1. Create the background in Photoshop

Step 1

In Adobe Photoshop, create a New Document. Set the Width to 2400 and Height to 3300. Select Pixels from the dropdown menu. Set the Resolution to 300 Pixels/Inch. Set the Color Mode to RGB. Click Create.

Create a new Photoshop fileCreate a new Photoshop fileCreate a new Photoshop file

Step 2

On the Layers panel, press Shift-Command-N to add a New Layer. Deactivate the Background layer.

On the Tools panel, select the Brush Tool (B). Double-click on the Foreground Color. On the Color Picker window, select anything in the orange range. Click OK.

Add a couple of brush strokes on the page.

Use the Brush Tool to create brush strokes with the orange colorUse the Brush Tool to create brush strokes with the orange colorUse the Brush Tool to create brush strokes with the orange color

Step 3

Double-click on the Foreground Color. On the Color Picker window, select anything in the green range. Click OK.

Add a couple of brush strokes on the page.

Use the Brush Tool to create brush strokes with a green colorUse the Brush Tool to create brush strokes with a green colorUse the Brush Tool to create brush strokes with a green color

Step 4

Double-click on the Foreground Color. On the Color Picker window, select anything in the blue range. Click OK.

Add a couple of brush strokes on the page.

Use the Brush Tool to create brush strokes with a blue colorUse the Brush Tool to create brush strokes with a blue colorUse the Brush Tool to create brush strokes with a blue color

Step 5

Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.

On the Add Noise pop-up window, set the Amount to 2% and the Distribution to Uniform. Click OK.

Use the Noise filterUse the Noise filterUse the Noise filter

Step 6

Repeat steps 2-5 but with different colors. Try to choose contrasting and neon colors that would clash with the layer before.

Repeat steps 2-5 but this time with neon colorsRepeat steps 2-5 but this time with neon colorsRepeat steps 2-5 but this time with neon colors

Step 7

Save each layer as a separate TIFF file. On the TIFF Options pop-up window, check the Save Transparency option. Click OK.

Save both layers separate as .TIFF filesSave both layers separate as .TIFF filesSave both layers separate as .TIFF files

2. Create the anti-design poster in InDesign

Step 1

Since this graphic is intended to be used on social media, we’ll create a file with Instagram vertical/portrait dimensions.

In InDesign, create a New Document. On the New Document pop-up window, set the Width to 1080 px and the Height to 1350 px. Set the Margins to 60 px. Click OK.

Create a new file in InDesignCreate a new file in InDesignCreate a new file in InDesign

Step 2

Go to Layout > Create Guides. On the Create Guides pop-up window, set the Rows to 5 and Columns to 5. Set the Gutters to 12 px. Under Fit Guides to: Margins. Click OK.

Create a grid using the Guides toolCreate a grid using the Guides toolCreate a grid using the Guides tool

Step 3

On the Layers panel, add two more layers. We’ll have many elements to work with, and we want to create some kind of organization even though anti-design is about chaos.

Add two more layers on the layers panelAdd two more layers on the layers panelAdd two more layers on the layers panel

Step 4

I’ll grab one of the gradient TIFF files I created in Photoshop and drop it into the InDesign file. Resize the gradient and frame to almost fit the first column to the left of the page.

Place one of the gradient .TIFF files to cover one column of the pagePlace one of the gradient .TIFF files to cover one column of the pagePlace one of the gradient .TIFF files to cover one column of the page

Step 5

Grab the other TIFF file and place it into the InDesign file. This time, resize the frame to take up the rest of the white area of the page, leaving the margin white.

Add the second .TIFF file to cover the rest of the page avoiding the marginAdd the second .TIFF file to cover the rest of the page avoiding the marginAdd the second .TIFF file to cover the rest of the page avoiding the margin

Step 6

Duplicate the same frame and create small rectangles. We’re trying to design a chaotic background that’s in line with the anti-design style. There’s no right or wrong way to do this. Try using different sizes or placing these smaller elements behind the main element. Since we saved the files with transparency, we’ll get different effects depending on where we place them.

Add rectangles using the same .TIFF filesAdd rectangles using the same .TIFF filesAdd rectangles using the same .TIFF files

Step 7

To create some dimension, I added a solid black background behind the main element.

Add dimension with a solid black rectangle and place it at the very back of the compositionAdd dimension with a solid black rectangle and place it at the very back of the compositionAdd dimension with a solid black rectangle and place it at the very back of the composition

Step 8

On the Layers panel, select Layer 2. Create a series of shapes, rectangular and spherical, using the TIFF gradients. On the Tools panel, select the Ellipse Tool (L) to create a circle. Drop one of the TIFF files inside the shape. Resize and move as you wish.

Repeat the same process but with rectangular shapes.

To add chaos, add circles and rectangular shapes using the .TIFF filesTo add chaos, add circles and rectangular shapes using the .TIFF filesTo add chaos, add circles and rectangular shapes using the .TIFF files

Step 9

Locate the Earth & World Maps & Icons files on your computer. I added wireframe shapes, one for the ground and one for the top left of the page.

Locate the wireframe files on your computer and add two to the compositionLocate the wireframe files on your computer and add two to the compositionLocate the wireframe files on your computer and add two to the composition

Step 10

Locate the Robot Head on your computer. Place the image into the InDesign file.

To create more chaos, I want to duplicate the image multiple times. In this case, I used the line near the center of the composition to act as a cut-off point and placed part of the robot image to the left.

The rest of the image I placed to the right side of the line. I also duplicated the forehead space of the robot and resized the frame without resizing the image to add more dimension.

Locate the robot image on your computer and create a cut up effectLocate the robot image on your computer and create a cut up effectLocate the robot image on your computer and create a cut up effect

Step 11

It’s now time to add text details. Because it’s a technology-inspired anti-design composition, I want to come up with words and sentences that apply to this topic. I created four main points to call the eye.

Select the Text Tool (T) from the Tools panel. Create a text frame—in this case, I added the word “_ANTIDESIGN.” On the Control panel, set the Font to Guton, the Size to 42 pt, and the Tracking to 50. Set the Color to White.

Create another text box right underneath, and change the font Size to 20 pt. I added another text box with the same format on the lower half of the composition.

Add text to the left column of the pageAdd text to the left column of the pageAdd text to the left column of the page

Step 12

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create two rectangles to fit text related to technology, in this case like model/make. On the Control bar, set the rectangle corners to Rounded.

Using the Text Tool (T), create two text frames and add your text.

Add text to the top of the pageAdd text to the top of the pageAdd text to the top of the page

Step 13

To make this composition even more chaotic, we can add larger text. Create a text box, and set the Font Size to 200 pt. Set the Text Color to the currently very popular green: #00e000. Rotate (R) the text vertically and place it right in the center of the composition.

Add bigger text and rotate it vertically, place it at the center of the pageAdd bigger text and rotate it vertically, place it at the center of the pageAdd bigger text and rotate it vertically, place it at the center of the page

Step 14

Create another text box—this one will be for the white space on the right side of the poster. Set the Font to Guton, set the Size to 40 pt, and place the text box vertically on the empty space.

Add smaller text and place it vertically in the empty white space on the right side of the pageAdd smaller text and place it vertically in the empty white space on the right side of the pageAdd smaller text and place it vertically in the empty white space on the right side of the page

3. Export the JPEG file

Go to File > Export. In the Export pop-up window, set the Format to JPEG. Click Save.

In the Export JPEG pop-up window, set the Image Quality to High. Click Export.

Export the image as a JPEGExport the image as a JPEGExport the image as a JPEG

Congratulations! You've finished this tutorial

I hope you found this tutorial helpful. The anti-design movement is one that never stops growing or evolving. Throughout the years, we've seen multiple examples of bad graphic design that often start as a commentary on graphic design and end up being a design trend. This is one of them. Enjoy creating more anti-design posters!

If you liked this tutorial and you want more anti-design examples, you might like:


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