Typographic Poster

Typographic Poster

I created this project as part of the online course in designing a Designing a Typographic Poster with Illustrator.

I'm constantly inspired by a wonderful mix of artists who each bring something special to the table. Andy Warhol and Peter Saville have been huge influences, with Andy's vibrant take on pop culture and Peter's groundbreaking design aesthetics. Then there's Cy Twombly, whose wild scribbles breathe energy and emotion into abstract art, and Patrick Caulfield, who plays so cleverly with bold colours and forms. These artists fuel my passion for blending historical influences with modern design, adding depth and joy to my creative journey.

I used pencils, A3 paper, scissors, a craft knife, eraser, a ruler, a set square and pens to sketch.

I used Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for the digital production of this course.

My mood board for the phrase "culture eats strategy"... which is part of a famous phrase by Peter Drucker. I looked for images related to the phrase itself and then went deeper with each word... "culture"... "eats"... "strategy".

I also tried some generative AI with the phrase to see what came up. I ended up creating a picture of a playful monster eating an office block. The process of doing this was more useful than some of the outcomes. I have included one of these images on the board. Can you guess which one?

The phrase I was trying to illustrate was quite long, so I had to think about spacing and form. I wanted the letters to be semi-business like and playful at the same time, which is why I used both upper and lower cases. This was just a start as I let the mood board help me evolve my ideas as I went along.

Next, I fired up Adobe Illustrator and after marking out a grid of the golden ration I started to make my letters digitally. In the past I have scanned my sketches and used them as a guide but this time I worked with shapes from the outset - this was refreshing.

I had to think about making my letters work on the portrait aspect of the poster and this allowed me to draw in some of the elements from my mood board. Namely, the monster elements that play on business as beast and also eating things up. I then refined the shapes

Here is a black and white version of my poster followed by the colour one which I tweaked.

I then uploaded my image from Illustrator into Photoshop and added some noise in a layer and a pattern overlay to make my composition pop. I then exported it as print PDF for printing.

Finally to help visualise the poster I dropped it into a mockup in photoshop. The result is quite pleasing.

The phrase “Culture Eats Strategy”, is a well-known business and leadership concept attributed to management consultant Peter Drucker. My visual design tries to reinforce this idea, with the word “eats” styled to resemble a monster with teeth, symbolising how culture “consumes” strategy.

Meaning:
The phrase means that organisational culture has a stronger impact on success than strategy alone. Even the best strategic plans will fail if the company’s culture does not support them. A positive, aligned culture drives engagement, innovation, and execution, whereas a toxic or misaligned culture can undermine even the most well-thought-out strategy.

Visual Representation:
• “Culture” is bold and dominant at the top, indicating its importance.
• “Eats” is playful and aggressive, showing culture actively consuming strategy.
• “Strategy” is placed on a plate, reinforcing the idea that it is being “eaten.”
• A fork and knife frame the composition, reinforcing the metaphor.

Application:
This concept is frequently cited in leadership, business, and organisational development discussions, emphasising the importance of fostering a strong company culture to ensure long-term success.