OLLY MOSS SEEING DOUBLE Cody Cessna
Figure 2: Mondo poster for Return of the Jedi, Olly Moss
Olly Moss: Seeing Double Cody Cessna
Olly Moss is one of the forerunning major successes in a new generation of designers. He has made an impressive contribution within illustration and typography at a relatively young age. His interest in popular culture has earned him fame on the internet and glory among nerds. He seems to have an eye for creative juxtapositions. His style also demonstrates a bold appreciation of color and texture. His astute design concepts have earned Moss respe ct among fellow designers and creatives. Concept is the driving force behind his work. Moss even mocks his own drawing ability, claiming he’s a poor draftsman; however, he asserts, “A weak execution can be overcome by a strong concept.�1 The focus of his creative process is to support a strong concept.
Figure 1: Cover image: photo of Olly Moss
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Figure 4: Logo for Firewatch, Olly Moss
Figure 3: F-Bomb, Olly Moss
Figure 5: Logo for Resistance 3, Olly Moss
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He began his design career at the age of 15 drawing t-shirt designs for Threadless online.1 He attributes much of his development as a designer, illustrator and typographer to the harsh and honest critique he received over the internet. As his work progressed, he drifted toward minimalism, streamlining the elements of his design until every remaining detail supported his concept. Typographically, he began to work with juxtapositions early on, such as his “f-bomb� design. This design uses the weight of the text to give the concept a definite sense of heaviness. Although this design reveals Moss’ irreverent sense of humor, it also gives gravity and impact to a word that people tend to toss around carelessly.
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He also incorporates images into the logo for Resistance 3, matching the art he did for the cover of the game. His understanding of harmony between image and text is further developed in the logo for his own game, Firewatch. The way that the strokes of the “A” and “W” reinforce the shape of the badge creates a unification of the graphic shape and letterforms. Moss says his style reflects classical designers like Milton Glazer.2 Olly Moss is most famous for his minimalist movie posters. He tends to work in vividly saturated monochrome, often integrating scenic elements from the film into a depiction of a character from the film. His compositions tend to exploit diagonals dynamically, yet remain very balanced. He further supports that balance by building his typographic system into a very symmetrical grid (as seen in the above Jungle Book poster and the Star Wars: Return of the Jedi poster on the front page).
Figure 6: Poster for The Jungle Book, Olly Moss
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“It’s the idea that Olly Moss can take the most minimalist thing, and make so much out of doing so little with it. He has a rare vision.” -Jensen Karp,
co-owner of 1988 Gallery3
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His typography is subtle, and nearly invisible much of the time, but very intentional. He advises a thoughtful approach to combining typography with images: “Think of it as a compositional element. You’ve got to put it there, and make sure it’s catered for at the sketch level. Don’t draw the best thing ever and then f-cking ruin it by slapping text on top of it.”4 He shows how carefully he considers his text in terms of his composition in his poster for Jungle Book, with the subtle, desaturate purple of his text picking up the hue of the darker tones in the image. Moss’ contributions to the world of minimalist film posters have spawned many imitators, but few competitors. The strength of his concepts sets him apart. His posters are carefully linked to the tone of the film itself. The subject matter of his work is drawn from popular culture, but also adds to it. He is brings new meaning to his source material rather than simply ripping it off.
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Figure 7: Mondo poster for Rocky, Olly Moss
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In his poster for Rocky, the main body of text is stacked precariously as Rocky runs up the stairs in an homage to the iconic scene from the film. This rough-around-the-edges vibe captures not only the desperation of Rocky in the plot, but also Rocky as a person. The image manages to combine both Rocky’s struggle and his triumph. Shape and contrast suggest that the triumph is greater than the struggle. Moss conveys all this in a simple image. He creates a sense of dynamism using color, value and texture that other posters lack. Although the Rocky poster is composed of simple shapes, their arrangement creates a tremendous sense of depth.
Figure 8: Typography joke, Olly Moss
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“Things are iconic for a reason, but the trick is to kind of exploit that. Well, maybe “exploit” is the wrong word — it’s more about putting a twist on it, showing something to somebody that they’ve seen a million times, but looking at it in a slightly different way.”
Hierarchy is one of his great skills when it comes to laying down text. Color seems to be his principal tool for conveying text importance. Size and weight are also useful in his work. He occasionally walks a fine line when it comes to legibility. The Return of the Jedi poster for example, uses a thin teal text on a black background, causing it to nearly vanish. However, the text is still visible and the subtlety supports his piece by preventing the billing block from becoming distracting. Because his color palette is typically shallow, his use of color as a typographic element tends to rely on value more than hue. His font choices tend to be simple, sans-serif, and unobtrusive.
-Olly Moss,
iO9 Interview5
Figure 9: Promotional poster for Firewatch, Olly Moss
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“I don’t see [design] as different things; it’s all part of one process. I think it’s a mistake to differentiate typography from illustration from concept. It’s all the same thing, it’s about making marks on a page. They should all work together. There’s not one thing I would prefer over another. I definitely like it when you can do something simply without any excess embellishments, though. I’ve been experimenting with that lately and it’s been working nicely. I think what’s most satisfying is when a solution works really simply and is strong and doesn’t need anything else added to it.” -Olly Moss,
Hit Fix Interview2
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Texture is one of most distinguishing elements of his work. His use of a painterly texture and tendency to start from more traditional methods of drafting are one of the provide him with a classic aesthetic in much of his work.
intellects of his viewers. He trusts their observational skills. Frequently, his juxtapositions are not immediately obvious. Often, his works contain nuances that become apparent only upon closer inspection. This is illustrated beautifully in his poster for An American Werewolf in London. The image of a man changing into a werewolf is subtly embedded within the map of Great Britain. Initially, he considered changing his design to make the optical
Olly Moss owes his success at least in part to his relationship with the viewer. Not only does he respect the pop culture icons his viewers enjoy, but he also respects the
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illusion more apparent. Instead, he opted to keep it subtle, and as a result it’s one of his favorite pieces.1 The typography is taken from the original poster; he recognized its effective communication of the tone of the film.5 Olly Moss understands designs as highly tied to their medium: “The best comics are things that could only be a comic, the best films are things that could only be a film.�5 When he designs a poster, or a print, or a logo, he bears this in mind. There are different modes of thinking that go into different genres of design.
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“I think the problem is that there’s this sort of almost this culture of graphic design at the moment where you feel like people have to be spoon fed things. And I’ve never thought that. I feel you’ve got to respect your audience. You’ve got to treat them as smart people.” -Olly Moss
Figure 10: Poster for An American Werewolf in London, Olly Moss
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Offset, 20121
However, Moss also sees design as a very unified method of thinking. Each project comes with unique challenges, but the approach is cohesive. This is not to say that every design problem is the same, but rather that thinking as a designer requires evaluating diverse elements as a whole, juggling ideas and modes of thought. Moss is an inspiration to the young generation of designers he represents. His tremendous accomplishments at such a young age reflect a very intelligent mind. He is constantly pushing forward, building on his previous work to progress as an artist and a designer.
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“Gut reactions aren’t enough. Never turn off the part of you brain that is constantly trying to analyze things.” -Olly Moss1
“Keep your eyes open. Evaluate everything. Take nothing for granted.” -Olly Moss6
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PAGE 1.
IMAGES
Figure 1. Craig Shimala, Image of Olly Moss. 2011, Digital. Available from blurppy.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015).
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Olly Moss, Return of the Jedi Poster. 2011. Digital. Available from ollymoss.com (accessed Dec 11.2015).
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Figure 3. Olly Moss, “F-Bomb”. 2011. Digital. Available from ffffound.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015). Figure 4. Olly Moss, Logo for Firewatch. 2014. Digital. Available from ollymoss.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015). Figure 5. Olly Moss, Logo for Resistance 3. 2011. Digital. Available from ollymoss.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015).
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Figure 6. Olly Moss, The Jungle Book Poster. 2014. Digital. Available from ollymoss.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015).
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Figure 7. Olly Moss, Rocky Poster. 2010. Digital. Available from ollymoss.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015).
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Figure 8. Olly Moss, Bad Kerning Can Never be Justified. 2010. Available from moss.fm (accessed Dec 11. 2015).
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Figure 9. Olly Moss, Firewatch Poster. 2014. Available from ollymoss.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015).
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Figure 10. Olly Moss, An American Werewolf in London Poster. 2011. Available from ollymoss.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015).
SOURCES 1. Olly Moss, “Olly Moss: Offset 2012”. 2012. Vimeo video. Tested.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015). 2. Olly Moss, “Olly Moss on Being One of the Most Sought-After Designers in the Movie Poster World”. Hitfix.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015). 3. Jensen Karp, “Olly Moss Art Show @ 1988 Gallery”. 2011. Vimeo video. Threadless.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015). 4.Olly Moss, The Collective Podcast Episode 89. 2015. Thecollectivepodcast.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015). 5. Olly Moss, “The Real Reason Mondo’s Posters Look So Much Cooler than Regular Movie Posters” 2012. Io9.com (accessed Dec 11. 2015). 6. Olly Moss, “Advice to Aspiring Designers”. 2011. Moss.fm (accessed Dec 11. 2015).
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