Michael C. Place

Title: Poetry Club for JWT
Date: November 2006
Artist: Michael C. Place
Design Movement: unknown

Build was established in 2001 by Michael C. Place and "has since forge an international reputation as a forward-thinking Graphic Design studio with an exceptional eye for detail and a unique sense of style."

He designed this poster for a poetry club in Holland after he established Build. His graphic design studio is known around the world and produces many great pieces.

Michael said this in an interview: "I love the whole process of design and don’t want to get bogged down in the whole technical side of things. Print is great because it requires real discipline to do well, and I love the print process. I wouldn’t like to be seen as a ‘Jack of all trades’.

My relationship with my computer is simply this, I switch computer on, it works, the end. I was fortunate enough to be one of the last generation of designers that learned to do artwork by hand, using overlays, PMT cameras, making up type/colour etc.. This has helped me to have a really good knowledge of how the print process works. It’s invaluable to me."

I was immediately drawn to this piece mainly because of the composition of it. There is this huge minimalistic creature taking up most of the poster and a weird swirly figure on the creature sleeping. I really enjoy black and white pieces with a single pop of red color. The enormity of the creature pieced with the dreamy figure demands to be noticed. It would be very hard to just simply walk by this poster without stopping.

//extra//

A1 screen-printed poster design for the Poetry Club of The Netherlands. Commissioned by JWT [Amsterdam]. After a poem [translated into English below] by Daniël Dee.

Last night i slept
With the monster under my bed

Scratching myself against his rough fur
That was unexpectedly soft

He bit what was a painful pleasure
And we snore the bed in two

Now when i´m awake i feel nothing
Than my hair growing