This Learning Lab collection is based on the popular How Posters Work exhibition held at Cooper Hewitt from May 8, 2015 to January 17, 2016. This exhibition explored how designers see. How Posters Work highlighted the ways dozens of designers from around the world have used the principles of composition, perception, and storytelling to convey ideas and solicit sensations. Some works in the exhibition focus our attention on a single message, while others send the eye on a meandering journey. Graphic designers use form, color, image, and language to seek out  simplicity and complexity, flatness and depth, singular moments and stories that unfold. Some designers strive for maximum clarity, while others challenge the viewer to uncover a hidden message. How Posters Work featured over 125 pieces from Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection, dating from the turn of the twentieth century to the present.

The original exhibition a range of topics including:

Focus the Eye
Overwhelm the Eye
Simplify
Cut and Paste
Overlap
Assault the Surface
Activate the Diagonal
Manipulate Scale
Use Text as Image
Tell a Story
Double the Meaning
Amplify
Make Eye Contact
Make a System

Simplify, Overlap, Scale, and Diagonal will be the focus of this learning lab in order to dive a bit deeper into the subjects.