Icon rationale
The concept for the icon poster was to communicate various military moustache styles around the world; the design focused on the theme of masculinity and the semantics of war associated with moustaches and their role in conveying authority. Furthermore, the composition introduced references to the Indian caste system and cultural associations of moustaches; the gradient circular forms in the posters’ background symbolises the three heads of the Hindu god Brahmin, representative of the caste system itself.
To some extent, the poster is appropriate for Pierces’ semiotic category of an icon as it features actual silhouettes of moustaches in order to reflect them in a literal sense. Arguably, there are nuances such as the symbolic nature of the poster that conflicts the definition of an icon; certain aspects are not as evident without prior information, such as the references to Indian culture.
A key design principle in the poster is the dominance of negative space, which adopts the role of creating tension between the components; this visual decision allows the poster to provide drama, thus linking to the masculine authority of moustaches. Alongside this, the vivid juxtaposition of the black and white palette indicates a subtle conflict; the design mirrors the correlation of this with associations of war and the conflict generated by the caste system. In a sense, the poster also subliminally presents themes of irony, as the various moustache styles are composed to be small in comparison to the instability of negative space; this subtly offsets the authority of the role of military moustaches, as it lacks being grounded.
Index rationale
The notion of the index poster was the religious correspondence of moustaches and the Devil; the design focuses on the concept of Lucifer wearing a goatee in Renaissance paintings, alongside the idea of moustaches being associated with evil nature within Christianity. The poster challenges this idea of evil nature by introducing cartoons in the focal point of the design; the playful illustrations juxtapose the sinful connotations of moustaches by creating undertones of childhood and innocence; a key decision throughout the design process was to maintain this sense of irony by mocking the theatrical idea of the Devil, which was conveyed by using Microsoft paint to develop imagery for the poster.
Regarding the concept of an index, the poster possesses components that allow it to adhere to the definition of the category quite well; the design presents aspects that are associated with moustaches through sustaining the key imagery of devil illustrations. Admittedly, it could be suggested that the decision to refer to Christian associations of moustaches causes the design to somewhat fall into the category of a symbol; arguably it is not a prominent association that would be necessarily suitable for an index concept.
A key element in the poster design that communicates the conflicting themes of evil and innocence is the principle of contrast between textures; the imagery of clean, white illustrations develop a juxtaposition between the grain/halftone image treatment of the surrounding elements. Additionally, the visuals have close proximity to one another within their composition, which alongside overlapping, develops a somewhat chaotic aspect to the design; contributing to the semantics of evil and the Devil within the index. Consequently, this lack of balance within the posters design principles adds to a sense of unease, which is further dramatised by the decision to add a thick border of negative space around the design.
Symbol rationale
The ideology behind the symbol poster explored the Indian caste system, through using imagery of soap representative of the low caste role within the Hindu society; the design plays on themes of irony as soap is symbolic for the concept that low caste citizens are restricted to work as cleaners and are banned from growing moustaches due to their association with higher castes. Auxiliary to this, the design empowers the low caste through the visualisation of hair; reflective of current affairs of men in India growing moustaches in rebellion of the caste system and its restrictions.
The design for the symbol poster largely submits to the concept of the symbol category and its qualities; the design follows the sense that a symbol is learned, in this case being the prior knowledge of the caste system and the rules that the low caste are restricted by. To some degree, it may be considered that there are some aspects of the design that adhere to the role of an index, as the poster features imagery of actual hair which is a direct association of moustaches.
Regrading the prominent design principles within the poster, a key characteristic is the decision to feature a large amount of negative space; the design conveys a strong sense of tension, which is representative of the conflict caused by the caste system. Moreover, the role of extreme negative space allows the foregrounded soap to seem somewhat alone; this contributes further to the limitations of the low caste in India, which is further dramatised through the hierarchy of composition decisions. However, it could be considered that this unbalanced composition creates undertones of confidence within the designs connotations; the focal point of the soap stands alone in a sense of defiance, thus representing the rebellion of men growing moustaches in India.
