Recently in Visual Research Category

MoodBoard.pdf

This image draws from Art Deco in its simplification of shapes and clean overall appearance. By taking a classic-looking image and imposing a jarring action - taking off its head - it grabs the attention of a certain group of people and gives them an expectation of the mood of the event. This is sure to be a mind blowing concert.

Here is a website I found that shows the process an illustrator went through as he was creating the front cover and feature illustrations for an article.
Here is the section that talks about his process.
Here is a section that shows photo documentation of his process.

This is a poster design by US designer Jason Munn.

This poster uses spots within the eye that are similar to those used by Roy Lichtenstein. Lichtenstien was one of the first to use Benday Dots as an artistic element.

Flat 2-D imagery is another element of this design that can draw influence from 1920's posters such as this example from Germany.

The analyzed design also features the eye as a singular element. This example from 1950s Germany shows the eye as a stand alone element, along with a very similar placement on the page.

Here is a grouping of poster designs that were finalists in the Chicago International Poster Biennial poster design competition. For the most part I found that these posters were more in your face than many American designs. It seems that depending on the culture, the color pallete is much more subdued or is similar to the broad pallete of American taste. The imagery used definitely grabs me and evokes more emotion. I think for the message conveyed is sometimes not as clear, possibly because the ideas are more complex than many of the ideas represented by American designs. It seems that many of the posters have a very to-the-point aspect. Many of these poster designs also show a cultural influence. For instance many of the French designs have a very painterly quality to them. On the other hand, design is very international today, and many of the designs have a multiculrual and worldly feel.

Chicago International Poster Biennial
Finalists

Here's some examples of the logos Google uses at the top of their search bar. I think this shows applications to the varied cultures that Google caters to.
Google Logos

Here's a collection of some posters with some great messages with creative ways of delivering them. Also some great use of type.
Creative Posters

Thought these were pretty creative approaches.

Billboards

I stumbled across this site called behance and it is a site for people to show off their design and such. There are a lot of examples of work for social good and this designer I believe has done a great job of using simple shapes and bright colors to produce an effective statement.

Behance

I absolutely love advertisements from the mid to late 50's. I love the illustrated quality and the bright, eye-catching colors. I also like how everything is so glamorized. I think this style of advertising could be spun to add almost a satirical quality to a poster for public good. Plan59.com has some great and very numerous examples of this decadent advertising.