I made some silly posters

In 2023, I made ten posters. They’re very silly.

In search of a creative exercise, I set out to design some good looking – or at the very least interesting looking – posters in limited time. There’s no denying this project was inspired by Elliot Ulm’s designs and process, and by XKCD’s jokes. Every poster was to be unique and distinct, but all are still connected by recurring elements. Other than that, the only limits were the number of colours my printer could faithfully reproduce (1, black) and the size of a sheet of A4 paper.

Well, that sounded way too smart. The truth is that I started out with only one design and no plan, until people asked for another. Craving some design work but not wanting to repeat the concept, I set out to continue the line of ugly, nonsensical posters. The posters soon got less ugly, but the urge to cover a university building with posters was too strong.

Scroll down to see the posters.
They get better after the first few, I promise…

Today's Gender of the Week

So, this is the one that started it all…

One morning I found a website with a peculiar user interface for generating a username. Presumably in an attempt to tame the creativity of teenage students, the website forced me to pick a combination of two words from preselected lists and number to create a unique username. I felt limited by the options, but at the same time it was weirdly expressive.

It made me think of the many “bad gender forms” that have been shared on social media. This one wouldn’t be much better than any of those, but SunflowerDetective25 is at least a lot more fun than the traditional options.

Unlike this poster, gender is anything but black and white and there’s a lot of fun to be had. What better way to celebrate this than with an extremely silly design?

Black and white poster. The main image is a spiral pattern made out of black and white photos of tomatoes and broccoli. Top left the text “2023 Vegetable of the Year” is displayed on an angle. Bottom right contains a box with the text “Vote Now!” above a QR code.

Vegetable of the Year 2023

There’s a lot of talk about meat and dairy lobbyists forcing their produce into our diets, but why is no one pressuring politicians to make us eat our veggies? Where is the broccoli lobby?

Before you start complaining, consider this. Some very reasonable definitions of the word “vegetable” include any edible part of a plant, so all fruits are actually also vegetables! If that makes you angry, please refer to the previous poster for my thoughts on overly restrictive definitions.

Black and white poster with a circular field of smaller light and dark grey circles, with the dark circles arranged in the shape of an elephant. Above the image is text “Colour Blindness Test” and below it “Can you see the giraffe? You might be colour blind if you can’t.”

Are You Colour Blind?

Take this simple test to figure out!

Disclaimer: this is no medical advise. Consult a professional if you think might actually be colour blind.

We Could Have Had Killer Turtles

Evolution has missed a turn to turtle domination! Wouldn’t that have been cool?

Well, the story might be a bit more nuanced, but it’s an interesting thought nonetheless.

Black and white poster with 10 images of spaghetti in a fancy bowl in different situations. Above that the title “10 reasons to serve spaghetti in a bowl.” The 10 reasons are listed with the images. Image 1, titled “convenient shape,” shows spaghetti in a geometric drawing of a circle. Image 2, titled “pleasing aesthetics,” shows spaghetti in a fancy bowl. Image 3, titled “Josh likes it,” shows a stick figure holding a bowl of spaghetti while gesturing thumbs up. Image 4, titled “doesn’t dull your saw,” shows spaghetti on a rusty saw. Image 5, titled “no UV emissions,” shows a bowl of spaghetti wearing sunglasses and an icon indicating the lack of UV emissions. Image 6, titled “nice hat when finished,” shows a stick figure wearing a bowl as a hat. Image 7, titled “keeps the alligators out,” shows a tiny alligator in a bowl of spaghetti, overlayed with a no symbol. Image 8, titled “more practical than a racket,” shows spaghetti on a tennis racket. Image 9, titled “improves strength balance and flexibility,” shows a stick figure doing yoga while holding a bowl of spaghetti. Image 10, titled “supports economic prosperity,” shows a bowl filled with banknotes.

10 Reasons To Serve Spaghetti In A Bowl

This convenient vessel is clearly superior!

Black and white poster with a half-tone image of the Martini tower with a monorail train in front of it. The monorail swoops around the tower. On the top right text says “Explore Groningen in style. The monorail connects Groningen’s best places. Experience them all with just a single ticket. Book yours now for a monoreal time!” On the bottom right, the Groningen monorail map shows a map of the city with the current network and its stations, as well as a future expansion with dotted lines.

Explore Groningen In Style

Groningen is a beautiful city. There's no better way to explore it than by monorail.

Mostly dark poster with a skyline on the bottom and polka dot pattern on top of a gradient, suggesting a starry night. Some dots on the right are connected in the shape of the big dipper. The image is overlayed with text: “Petition to rearrange the night sky. Advantages of rearranging stars on a Cartesian grid. 1) Looks neat. Symmetry! 2) Trivial star discovery. New stars can be discovered through extrapolation. 3) Easier communication. Star H,67 is clearer than the second brightest star in Orion. 4) Who doesn’t like polka dots? So fashionable! Sign now!”

Rearrange The Night Sky

Star gazing was never this much fun. What more can I say? Sign the petition now!

Become A Crab Today

Evolution might have missed out on turtle dominance, but it certainly didn’t skimp on crabs! What's stopping you from joining the carcinisation trend?

Black and white poster in the style of a 1920’s travel poster. The image is a simplified drawing of windmill painted in dazzle camouflage with trees at the horizon and clouds in the sky. The image is surrounded by the text “you look dazzling.” On the bottom, small text says “issued by the heartfelt compliments society.”

You Look Dazzling!

Seriously, you do! It’s just a bit hard to see where you’re going and how fast you’re moving.

If you don't get it, look up dazzle camouflage! Isn’t that just delightful? Not sure if it’s the best disguise for a windmill, though…

Black and white poster with recursive tear-off strips. The poster only contains text. “Help wanted. I have finally figured it out! Help me harness the power of infinity and finally fulfil my quest to cover everything and everywhere in silly designs. Forget heat death, big rip, or even big crunch. The end of the universe will henceforth be known as BIG WRAP! The writing is on the wall for the universe. The papery demise no physicist ever predicted has started today! Together we can decorate the universe with useless posters! Just take one, and place it somewhere else! Thank you :)”

Help Me Decorate The Universe

With this poster, I’ve finally completed my mission to create as many useless posters as possible. Arguably, I overshot my target and it now spells the end of the universe, but that's just a silly little detail.