Assignment: Design a poster for a theatrical play that has a message that is socially or politically inspired. The poster must be designed in a the style of Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, Art Deco, Futurism, Dada, Russian Constructivism, International Style, WPA Posters, or Psychedelic Posters.

I designed a poster for the play Antigone by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. The play deals with themes of protest, civil disobedience, and individual action in the time of authoritarian regimes, which makes it suitable for adapting to a variety of more modern settings. As a play, it’s especially interesting to adapt to the fraught political and social climate of World War II Europe – in fact, two separate writers of the World War II era (French dramatist Jean Anouilh and German playwright Bertolt Brecht) were inspired by the upheaval of the time to create their own adaptations of the play.

Because of this history, I decided that it would be interesting to create a poster in the style of WPA propaganda posters created around the time of the US’s entrance to the war. For the character of Antigone, I took inspiration from historical images of women in the French resistance. Stylistically, I tried to emulate the printed style of WPA posters, with a limited color palette, large blocks of color and simplified lines.