Milton Glaser on posters, from the 1981 Graphis Poster Annual:
Things Essential in Posters
1. They must attract attention
2. They must inform the viewer, and/or generate desire.
3. They must be a call to action.
4. They must use an already understood vocabulary shaped for a specific audience.Things not Essential in Posters
1. They do not have to enlarge the viewer’s understanding of the world.
2. They do not have to be either beautiful or decorative.
3. They do not need to reflect the maker’s personal point of view.
4. They do not have to be valuable after their informing function is complete.These two lists represent what I believe about posters. I had no problems with the first list, but the second caused me distress. What may not be essential for posters turns out to be essential to me. Every time I make a poster I hope its function goes beyond the immediate objective to inform; that it has an element of beauty or decoration to it; that it clearly reflects my point of view and that it has an afterlife that permits it to endure past its original intention. Curiously the audience for posters is also responsive to these non-essential elements. What is not essential becomes the place where the imagination is captured and where these ephemeral works produce their deepest effects. In this regard posters share with other truly poetic works the ability to illuminate the obvious.”