The Normandie - A.M Cassandre

Question 1

Purpose and function

Exam

Answer 1

• The purpose of this poster is to advertise transatlantic travel by ocean liner on the Normandie (from Le Havre in France to New York). This image would have appeared as a modern, glamorous advert.
• Both the Normandie and Nord Express posters advertise luxurious methods of travel. This was made more affordable to the mass public due to the economic boom.
• The bold, dynamic design would have appealed to people wishing to embrace the glamour that travelling on a modern cruise ship could offer.
• The purpose was also to reassure the public that this ship was safe. Cassandre uses a range of visual tricks to communicate to the public that this boat (Unlike Titanic) was unsinkable.
• He plays around with scale and viewpoint to communicate this.

Question 2

Style and Technique

(Notes)

Answer 2

• Cassandre’s work is typically Art Deco and his posters embody the style of that classic design period from the late 1920’s to the mid 1930’s.
• Cassandre used stencils and an airbrush to create his stylised images for his posters.
• He would produce a stencil template of the imagery and text and then plan out the layout of his overall design using a grid system. This allowed him to align his elements and create symmetry.
• He used stencils for both imagery and text and airbrushed bold colours in section. This allowed him to create simple dramatic image where the tonal ranges gradually blended from dark to light.
• Cassandre’s use of innovative techniques such as stencils and airbrushing, were influenced by the styles of Cubism and Futurism.
  Cassandre reproduced his posters in bulk by printing his designs using the lithography process in his printing house.
• Advances in printer technology meant that designer could use lithography to create bold, colourful designs. Both the Normandie and Nord Express were created using lithography allowing Cassandre to create dynamic, eye-catching posters.
• Cassandre was a master of airbrushing techniques. He used this technique from the top to the bottom of the poster creating graded tone in the sky from dark to light. This can also be seen on the strapline at the bottom.
• He created the feeling of a strong light source on the right hand side of the boat by creating strong tonal variation. The textured smoke and sleek lines of the poster are very much his signature style. His works appears futurisic and seems powerful and dynamic.
• Cassandre believed that poster design was a form of communication and that it was his role to communicate to the public “clearly, powerfully and precisely.” Cassandre was especially well known for his travel posters.

Question 3

Impact on social, cultural and other influences

Exam

Answer 3

• In 1912 RMS Titanic sailed. A floating city with a glamorous interior. It sank with the loss of many lives.
You can see Cassandre did everything possible to convince the public that the Normandie was a huge, strong unsinkable ship. His use of a low viewpoint and a tiny flock of birds helps to create an exaggerated scale.
• Art Deco was inspired by different cultures and Archaeological discoveries. Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered (in 1922) which saw Egyptian motifs appearing on many design products. The composition of the Nord Express Poster is divided into 3 triangles like the starburst motif found on Tutankhamun’s mask.
• The term Art Deco refers to the 1920’s and 1930’s - the period after World War I when many countries experienced an economic boom. Art Deco was Influenced by Cubist Art and the German Bauhaus Design movement. Both movements used abstract, simplified and geometric shapes.
• Advances in printer technology meant that designer could use lithography to create bold, colourful designs. Both the Normandie and Nord Express were created using lithography allowing Cassandre to create dynamic, eye-catching posters.
• The invention of the petrol engine meant affordable cars. This changed the way that the general public viewed posters. If meant that designers had to communicate their message to people passing in fast moving vehicles. Both posters use bold capitalized typography with an emphasis on images rather than words.

Question 4

Layout

Exam

Answer 4

• The poster is divided horizontally by the strapline about ¾’s of the way down this portrait format poster. The top ¾’s is filled by the powerful, imposing image of a huge ocean liner.
• The bow of the ship forms a strong vertical line right down the centre of the poster making the image almost entirely symmetrical. We see the boat from a low viewpoint making the scale of the boat enormous.
• The tiny flock of birds to the left of the boat give a sense of it’s grand scale. The red on the funnel and near the waterline combined with the strong vertical act like a visual arrow pointing to the focal point of the word Normandie.

Question 5

Typography

Exam

Answer 5

• Cassandre believed typography should always be done in upper case for ease of reading (even from a car.)
• The font is simple and simple and clean without serits and is all contained in the strapline at the bottom of the poster. This leaves the image to sell most of the message.)
• Cassandre believed that posters should only use upper-cased lettering for ease of reading and to be seen from a fast moving vehicle.

Question 6

Visual Elements

Exam

Answer 6

• Cassandre uses the colours from the French flag to communicate that this is a French company. He uses this limited palette of red, white and blue as well as black and white which act as a strong contrast. The deep blues and blacks contrast sharply with the whites and light tones, making the ship stand out dramatically against the background.
• Colour, shape and tone are the visual elements that are most important to this designer. The shape of the boat is stylized and simple in it’s bold geometry and sleek curves. This is typical of the Art Deco style.
• He uses airbrushed tone to create depth in the sky, shading on the strapline and strong highlights on the right of the boat as well as deep shadows on the left.

Question 7

Market and Target Audience

Exam

Answer 7

• The dynamic layout and contemporary feel of this poster would have appealed to those who could afford to travel in luxury and wanted the adventure of crossing the Atlantic in style.
• His Art Deco design and decor were innovative, distinctive and luxurious. All of these factors contributed to her being described as “the ultimate ocean liner”. Passengers flocked to it and the great liner attracted the celebrities and film stars of the day as well as the wealthy middle classes.

Question 8

What is stone lithography?

Answer 8

Stone lithography was the first printmaking technology that allowed art designers to work using traditional techniques to create multiple copies of their images without losing any of the quality or detail.

Question 9

Use of materials and/or technology

Exam

Answer 9

• Cassandre used stencils and an airbrush to create his stylised images for his posters.
• He would produce a stencil template of the imagery and text and then plan out the layout of his overall design using a grid system. This allowed him to align his elements and create symmetry.
• He used stencils for both imagery and text and airbrushed bold colours in section. This allowed him to create simple dramatic image where the tonal ranges gradually blended from dark to light.
• Advances in printer technology meant that designer could use lithography to create bold, colourful designs. Both the Normandie and Nord Express were created using lithography allowing Cassandre to create dynamic, eye-catching posters.

Question 10

Working method

Exam

Answer 10

• He would produce a stencil template of the imagery and text and then plan out the layout of his overall design using a grid system. This allowed him to align his elements and create symmetry.
• Cassandre was a master of airbrushing techniques. He used this technique from the top to the bottom of the poster creating graded tone in the sky from dark to light. This can also be seen on the strapline at the bottom.
• Advances in printer technology meant that designer could use lithography to create bold, colourful designs. Both the Normandie and Nord Express were created using lithography allowing Cassandre to create dynamic, eye-catching posters.

Question 11

Use of technique:

Exam

Answer 11

• He would produce a stencil template of the imagery and text and then plan out the layout of his overall design using a grid system. This allowed him to align his elements and create symmetry.
• He used stencils for both imagery and text and airbrushed bold colours in section. This allowed him to create simple dramatic image where the tonal ranges gradually blended from dark to light
• Advances in printer technology meant that designer could use lithography to create bold, colourful designs. Both the Normandie and Nord Express were created using lithography allowing Cassandre to create dynamic, eye-catching posters.

Question 12

Consideration of style

Exam

Answer 12

• Cassandre’s use of innovative techniques such as stencils and airbrushing, were influenced by the styles of Cubism and Futurism.
• Cassandre’s work is typically Art Deco, style from late 1920’s to the mid 1930’s. Known for geometric lines and shapes and sharp outlines which we can see throughout the Normandie poster.
• He created the feeling of a bright light source on the right-hand side of the boat by creating strong tonal variation. The textured smoke and sleek lines of the poster are very much his signature style. His works appears futuristic and seems powerful and dynamic.
• The dynamic layout and contemporary feel of this poster would have appealed to those who could afford to travel in luxury and wanted the adventure of crossing the Atlantic in style.