Leave it to a designer to take something that he does during down time — watch TV —and create a personal project anchored in a show’s theme or its characters. When done well, these projects go viral due to the appreciation of both the design community and fans alike.
Sometimes, that attention can even manifest into a paying project from the network itself, as it has for Ty Mattson, creator of Lost, Dexter and Breaking Bad poster series. As a result, Mattson has been commissioned for several CBS projects, including a series of fine-art prints commemorating the network’s classic shows. He even appeared in a cameo on Dexter. Mattson isn’t alone in using his design aesthetic to bring his favorite shows to life in a new way. One designer has even found a way to bridge his TV-inspired poster project to benefit a nonprofit.
Oliver Munday, recognized by Print in 2010 as a New Visual Artist, is taking The Wire Poster Project to the next level by linking it to the Baltimore Urban Debate League, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged youth in Baltimore public schools. These typographic posters, available for $35 a pop, bring to life the epigrams that precede each episode of The Wire and allude viewers to what is to come. See some of the prints below, but visit The Wire Poster Project to view all 60 posters.
Plus, read Steven Heller’s interview with Munday and find out how this project started.
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