Teachers' Notes Help Is Better Than Sympathy: Frank Brangwyn and The

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Teachers’ notes

Help is better than Sympathy: Frank Brangwyn and the First World War

Contents page a) How to use this learning resource 3 b) Brangwyn and the First World War 5 c) An overview of First World War propaganda posters 6 d) Brangwyn’s artistic processes 8 e) Further reading and links 9 f) Teaching suggestions: Brangwyn’s work as historical evidence 10 g) Creating Your Own Protest Poster Inspired by Frank Brangwyn: An art & design project case study 13

i) Introduction 13 ii) Project lesson plan 14 iii) Extending the project with older students: creating a digital design 17 h) Acknowledgements 19

a) How to use this learning resource

Who is it for? This resource has been written for Key Stage 3 and 4 teachers; although it can of course be adapted for younger or older students. Images to be used with younger students should be selected with care, as Frank Brangwyn’s depictions of war were at times brutal.

What does the resource contain? There are five parts to this resource, which can all be downloaded from the learning section of the William Morris Gallery website. The five parts are:

1. Frank Brangwyn and the First World War: teachers’ notes The document you are currently reading! It provides brief background information about Frank Brangwyn, First World War propaganda and Brangwyn’s artistic practice, and teaching suggestions.

The notes also include a full lesson plan for a Creating Your Own Protest Poster graphic design project, developed from artist-led workshop inspired by Brangwyn. Resources and suggestions for running similar activities in the classroom are also included

2. Image bank PowerPoint A selection of Frank Brangywn’s First World War art work and photographs of Belgian refugees in a PowerPoint. Additional information about some of the images is included in the notes section of the slides. These images can be shown on the interactive whiteboard at school.

3. Creating your own Protest Poster PowerPoint presentation A slide show to be used with the graphic design case study

4. Protest poster project resources: slogans A PDF of slogans that can be printed and cut up to use at school. For further information about using these slogans, see the graphic design case study.

5. Graphic design case study photos A PowerPoint presentation of photos of students working on the graphic design case study project.

History teachers may find the teaching suggestions included in section d of this teachers pack useful. They focus on approaches to Brangwyn’s work as historical evidence and provide strategies for examining propaganda and using photographs for comparison.

Art and design teachers can find useful strategies in the Graphic design case study, which focuses on poster design, examining use of images, text and composition. This case study and accompanying resources can be downloaded from the learning resources page of the William Morris Gallery website.

About this learning resource This learning resource is part of the legacy of William Morris Gallery’s 2014 exhibition Help is better than Sympathy: Frank Brangwyn and the First World War. A selection of Frank Brangwyn’s First World War posters and art works can be seen at the William Morris Gallery either on display or on request. You can find out more about Frank Brangwyn in the Brangwyn gallery at the William Morris Gallery.

Visiting William Morris Gallery The Gallery can accommodate no more than one school class at a time. If you wish to visit please book in advance.

William Morris Gallery Lloyd Park, Forest Road, Walthamstow, London, E17 4PP 020 8496 4390 wmgallery.org.uk For schools enquiries contact [email protected]

Open Wed – Sun 10 am – 5 pm, Tues for schools/groups by appointment Admission free

b) Frank Brangwyn and the First World War

Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956) Frank Brangwyn was born in Bruges, Belgium, to British parents. The family moved back to London when Brangwyn was seven. He received little formal art training. As a child he loved to draw but school did not interest him. He often skipped class to accompany his father, a designer, to work, where he would help with deliveries; an excuse to roam the streets and draw.

Brangwyn served a brief apprenticeship with William Morris, tracing designs and enlarging drawings. However he was restless and left after two years to work on boats, drawing and painting the places he visited. By the time he was in his twenties, Brangwyn was well travelled and his work had attracted international attention. By the turn of the century, Brangwyn was one of Britain’s most renowned artists. His paintings and etchings were widely exhibited on the Continent, including the international exhibitions in Brussels (1910) and Ghent (1913).

Brangwyn’s War On the 4th of August 1914 German troops invaded Belgium. With overwhelming public support, the British government declared war on Germany and entered the First World War. In the first months of the war, about a million Belgian refugees fled to neighbouring countries. Some 250,000 refugees made it to Britain, where they met a sympathetic welcome. Relief committees formed all over the country, raising funds for the refugees. The fate of Belgium became a constant reminder of the ‘righteousness’ of the war, and people wanted to help.

Brangwyn was no exception. His personal loyalty to Belgium, the country of his birth, and a deep empathy for the fate of ordinary people propelled him into action. He poured his energies into the war effort; supporting refugee artists, contributing to fundraising exhibitions and designing fundraising posters free of charge.

He also received commissions from newspapers and the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (London Underground). The government was slow to catch up with the effectiveness of using artists to produce propaganda, but Brangwyn eventually was commissioned to create designs for the Ministry of Information, the National War Savings Committee and the US Navy. Brangwyn designed 80 posters, now synonymous with First World War propaganda.

Despite this range of commissions, Brangwyn’s posters are instantly recognisable. Brangwyn depicted the reality of the war in all its horrors, irrespective of the sensitivities of his patrons. The figures in his posters appeal directly to the viewer, they are angry, cry out, or are dwarfed by the enormity of the destruction around them. The message is not subtle, nor is it supposed to be. The emotional intensity of the poster intends to remove doubt and provoke action.

c) An overview of First World War propaganda posters

To be effective, propaganda posters must be striking, economical and efficient, and deliver a direct and simple message. They may bewitch, terrify or beguile the viewer, in order to urge, cajole, seduce or coerce people to take action.1

The British government increasingly adopted advertising techniques during the First World War. At first they commissioned printing firms to create the designs. Commercial firms however recognised that artists would be able to create much more powerful posters. For example, Frank Pick the general manager of London Underground commissioned Frank Brangwyn and Gerald Spencer Pryse, seeking genuine emotion and energy from these artists that the printers’ art departments could not provide.

Key First World War propaganda poster themes The examples given here are from the Imperial War Museum’s collection and not Brangwyn’s work. Examples of Brangwyn’s posters can be found in the image bank on the learning resources page of the William Morris Gallery website.

Your country needs you It soon became clear that the British needed more men for the army and so the appeal went out for volunteers. Posters tried to convince men to ‘do their duty’ by shaming them, appealing to their loyalty and sense of honour. After conscription was introduced with the passing of the Military Service Act in March 1916, propaganda continued to play an important role. Posters made it clear that everyone was expect to do their bit for the war; if not at the front then in the munitions factory or working as a nurse.

1 Aulich, James, War Posters. Weapons of Mass Communication (Thames & Hudson with the Imperial War Museum, 2007)

What are we fighting for Once the initial euphoria for the war had subsided, it became important to remind people what they were fighting for. Some posters promoted patriotism, for example by using symbols of nationhood (the British bulldog or the German eagle). Others showed the destruction of Allied countries and the displacement of refugees. Some vilified the enemy, accusing them of atrocities or portraying them as monsters.

© IWM (Art.IWM PST 13398) Raising funds The war had to be paid for. The posters ask people to raise money by buying war bonds and by taking part in war saving campaigns, such as ‘Tank Week’ and ‘Feed the Guns Week’.

Keep up morale Keeping up morale became increasingly important as the conflict continued. British people were asked to support the troops; for example by sending them some tobacco and support the work of the Red Cross. They were also encouraged to be brave and defiant in the face of German zeppelin attacks.

Commerce Commercial firms wanted to prove their patriotism. They also wanted to sell their goods and so they commissioned posters which were adapted for the war.

d) Brangwyn’s artistic processes

Inspiration Brangwyn never travelled to the front. Instead he used photographs to inspire his compositions, as well as his knowledge of Belgium; he had visited Belgium regularly between 1905 and 1909 and made many drawings and etchings. Brangwyn had also seen the ruins of Messina in Sicily in the years after it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1908, and made numerous studies of the scenes he saw there. These also influenced his scenes of wartime destruction.

Photography Brangwyn regularly used photographs to inform his designs. He would stage and photograph scenes with models and costumes. He preferred ordinary people over professional models, and was always on the look out for ‘characters’. For his war designs he also used photographs from news agencies and newspapers. The use of the camera by artists was controversial in the late 19th century and early 20th century and Brangwyn’s instructed his photographs to be destroyed after his death.

Lithography Lithography is a method of printmaking which relies on the principle of the resistance of oil to water. Brangwyn drew with a waxy lithographic crayon directly on to the flat lithographic stone, perching the stone onto his easel. (This was unconventional; most artists used transfer paper or had assistants copy their designs onto stone). The stone would then be inked. The ink adhered to Brangwyn’s crayon marks on the surface of the stone, whereas the wet parts of the stone that had not been drawn on repelled the ink. A sheet of paper was pressed then against the stone. Printers call this action a ‘kiss’ as little force is needed to transfer the image from the stone to the paper.

Brangwyn’s lithographs were printed almost exclusively by The Avenue Press. The firm, based in London, would transport the heavy lithographic stones to and from Brangwyn’s studios (first in Hammersmith and then at Ditchling) for proofing and printing. The stones were made of closely-grained sandstone of varying textures, the smoother stones producing a firm and solid line in the prints, and the stones with a coarser surface producing lines with a charcoal-like quality. Brangwyn favoured the latter.

The Avenue Press would print a black and white proof of Brangywn’s image. Brangwyn then made alternations and indicated the parts of the lithograph he wanted coloured. For each colour a new stone was prepared, so some posters required several stones. Usually these would be prepared by a lithographic artist employed by the Avenue Press. If Brangwyn chose to make alterations to his original design he did so using snake stone, an abrasive stone that removed the waxy crayon. This technique usually resulted in crisp white lines appearing in the parts where the crayon had been erased from the stone.

The Remaking of Belgium When creating a lithographic print, images Lithograph, by Frank Brangwyn, 1915. are reversed, so lettering had to be drawn backwards on the lithographic stone to be readable in the finished print. Unlike many artists Brangwyn often did not reverse his drawings on the lithographic stone – the printed images came out in reverse of his preparatory drawings. The eye tends to ‘read’ images from left to right, but this is reversed in many of Brangwyn’s prints. For example, the narrative of the image in The remaking of Belgium flows from right to left.

©William Morris Gallery

e) Further reading and links

Bibliography

Aulich, James, War Posters. Weapons of Mass Communication (Thames & Hudson with the Imperial War Museum, 2007) Horner, Libby, Brangwyn at War! (Horner and Goldmark 2014) Horner, Libby and Gillian Naylor eds., Frank Brangwyn 1867-1956 (Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds, 2006) De Vere Cole, Diana Brangwyn in Perspective: The Life and Work of Sir Frank Brangwyn 1867-1956 (One Roof Press, London, 2006) Rickards, Maurice, Posters of the First World War (Evelyn, Adams & Mackay, 1968) Timmers, Margaret, Power of the Poster (V&A 1998)

Online resources about Frank Brangwyn: http://www.wmgallery.org.uk/collection/themes/frank-brangwyn http://www.wmgallery.org.uk/collection/browse-the-collection http://www.frankbrangwyn.org/war

Online resources about the First World War and propaganda: http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first-world-war http://www.1914.org/about/research-resources/ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/britain/your_country. htm

f) Teaching suggestions: approaching Brangwyn’s work as historical evidence

Frank Brangwyn’s art work can be used to discuss the events of the First World War and to examine propaganda posters as sources of historical evidence. The teaching suggestions below support discussion during a visit to the gallery or use of the image bank in the classroom. Please contact the gallery if you wish to arrange a visit for your students, and to check which images are on display.

The flight of Belgian refugees to Britain The arrival of large numbers of refugees from Belgium initially caused chaos, but organised relief was soon in place. Help for the Belgians was a popular charitable cause. Show students the Belgian & Allies Aid League poster Brangwyn designed. o What does the poster reveal about British attitudes to the Belgian refugees? o Why might many British people have felt this way?

The home front Brangwyn did not fight during the First World War, nor was he an official war artist, so he did not go to the front. Brangwyn himself left London for the village of Ditchling to escape the threat of zeppelin attacks. Show students Mars Appeals to Vulcan and the Zeppelin Raids posters. o What do these posters tell us about the civilian experience on the home front?

After the war Show students Brangwyn’s Peace poster. o How is post-war Europe represented here? o It may be helpful to compare this poster to Brangwyn’s more violent or dramatic images, such as Put Strength in the Final Blow.

The sower is an archetypal image of peace stemming from ancient times. To see the influence of earlier artists on Brangwyn’s image, compare Peace to: o The sower by Jean Francois Millet (note that the man's pose in each is almost identical if seen in reverse. The use of a low view point in Peace adds to the towering heroism of the figure. In addition, he is placed on curved mound as if on top of the earth itself silhouetted against a sunrise of hope). o The sower, after Millet by Vincent van Gogh (note the bold composition and stark shapes silhouetted against the sun on the horizon).

In the late 1940s Brangwyn discussed the First World War with his biographer. He said: “Terrible thing – war, eh? It’s not only the war – but the after-effects which are so sad. But we forget – we forget too quickly. Look at the chaos that is going on now – when things ought to be peaceful. Let us hope and pray that the world will look at things with eyes for peace and quiet.” Read this quote to the class; and show them the Peace and Remaking Belgium posters. o Do students think Brangwyn’s posters represent the reality of peace time, or his hopes for peace time? o Why do students think Brangwyn created these images?

Propaganda: why commission artists? Frank Pick, the general manager of London Underground, refused to hang the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee’s posters because of their poor design. Instead he commissioned artists including Brangwyn to design posters such as Britain’s Call to Arms. This design was initially considered too horrific by the War Office, who asked that the poster be withdrawn. However, it drew such huge numbers of recruits that the poster was reprieved. The government eventually began to commission artists too. Explore with your students why artists such as Brangwyn instead of commercial designers were commissioned to produce propaganda images. o Show students a selection of Brangwyn’s works. Ask students: what makes Brangwyn’s style distinctive? Students could work in groups to come up with a list of observations. o Ask students to compare the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee’s early poster Who’s Absent? Is it You? Brangwyn’s recruitment posters Your Friends Need You, Britain’s Call to Arms and Mars Appeals to Vulcan. What are the similarities and differences? How does Brangwyn provoke the poster’s viewer into action? o Ask student to identify how Brangwyn brings emotional intensity into his art work. Look for: emotion (anger, anguish, fear); people reaching or crying out; small human against scenes of large-scale destruction.

Key themes o Ask students to identify the key themes of Brangwyn’s First World War art works. o Discuss the five key themes of First World War propaganda posters outlined in section three above. How do Brangwyn’s works fit with these themes? o Ask students to compare an image Brangwyn produced for a fundraising campaign to a recruitment image he produced. What subject has he chosen for each? Is the depiction of war different in each image? Why or why not?

Reliability The realism of Brangwyn’s work was acclaimed, but can we rely on Brangwyn’s art work as evidence of the realities of the First World War? o Show students Brangwyn’s image of Messina after the 1908 earthquake, and ask them to compare it to his images of war damage, for example the Ruins of War. o Ask students to research Brangwyn’s own experience of the First World War. Did he observe the front first hand? o You may wish to hold a class debate, inviting students to present their cases for or against the reliability of Brangwyn’s art work.

Ask students to compare Brangwyn’s images of Belgium in the Ruins of War lithograph and Belgian people in Belgian & Allies Aid League poster to the photographs of Belgian refugees from Vestry House Museum. o Do Brangwyn’s art works and the photographs convey the same messages? Why or why not? o Students could conduct research to find further images for comparison. Imperial War Museum is a good starting point http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search

Controversy Put Strength in the Final Blow, arguably Brangwyn’s most violent poster, was printed in 1918. The poster was commissioned by the National War Savings Committee, who published it but found that the image was too extreme to use. It was rumoured that the Kaiser put a price on Brangwyn’s head for producing such a brutal image. o Why was this poster shocking and offensive to both the British and the Germans? You may wish to split the class into two teams; asking each team to examine the poster from a different point of view.

g) Creating Your Own Protest Poster Inspired by Frank Brangwyn: an art & design project case study i) Introduction The effectiveness and popularity of Brangwyn’s First World War posters make them a useful resource for graphic design projects for GCSE and BTEC students. The hand- drawn lettering and simple compositions offer an alternative to slick computer- based designs where the process is less transparent.

For the Help is better than sympathy: Frank Brangwyn and the First World War exhibition artist printmaker Anna Alcock developed a poster design project aimed at students aged 14 and above although adapted versions of the project were used with Year 5 classes and adult community groups. The learning objective of the project was to familiarize students with five basic elements of poster design: subject; text; image; composition and impact. She aimed to show how, if the first four elements are used together effectively, the poster achieves the fifth element – impact – and successfully delivers its message to the desired audience.

Young people were asked create their own protest poster for a cause important to them. They looked at Brangwyn’s work and examples of contemporary protest posters. Students made thumbnail sketches to plan their poster designs. Students then put together the different elements of their poster: cut-out lettering was provided for the poster slogan, a two-colour visual image was created by cutting out and drawing into a sheet of craft foam, then this was arranged with a compositional shape cut from coloured paper. Students were encouraged to arrange a composition which achieved the most effective impact and then put the poster through a hand press to create the final image.

Project plan Anna Alcock’s original lesson plans have been adapted for teachers to use, and some additional content for higher ability students have been included. (Anna refers to herself in the project plan as the facilitator.)

Art and Design teachers may wish to select and use some of the activities described here in lessons. Or you may wish to replicate the full project, incorporating a visit to the Brangwyn Gallery at the William Morris Gallery or using the images provided in the image bank.

ii) Project lesson plan

Project Title Creating Your Own Protest Poster Inspired by Frank Brangwyn

Workshop timings: 10 - 2.30pm with 45 min lunch break

Outcome: An A3 protest poster printed on a traditional printing press using simple two colour relief print.

Staffing/Support - Clearing up roles - Handing out supplies - Replenishing ink supplies - Support in the design stage

Resources Text/Slogans from William Printing Press Morris and Brangwyn. Referred Flipchart to draw quick sketches to as ‘text’ in this project plan. Projector, Print x 3 copies to be printed out PowerPoint presentation (This can be and cut up. (This PDF can be downloaded from the learning resources downloaded from the learning page of the William Morris Gallery website) resources page of the William . 04 Resources - Creating Your Own Protest Poster project – slogans.pdf>. 6 x brayers (rollers) Per the student: 6x palettes to roll up ink A3 white thick paper 6 x inks (red, black, green, blue, yellow, A4 coloured paper purple) A4 craft foam Tablecloths per table Clipboard Newspaper to roll up onto 2x A5 paper for sketches Wet Wipes 1x sharp pencil Aprons Glue stick Paper Towel and rags Scissors

Timing Activity Notes

5 min Brief introduction to facilitator and practice

25 min Introduction: Putting the Workshop into Get engagement. Classroom Context Make the introduction personal by getting William Morris Gallery and links to the students to answer questions – what Brangwyn (see PowerPoint) would the student like to protest against. What is war? Why are posters an effective way to What is a poster? protest? What is protest art?

See PPT presentation slides 1-5

15 min For example: Littering, endangered species Classroom Personal Protests – facilitator’s examples shouldn’t be too What makes a good poster? contentious – let the students lead on the Ask for an example of something that the more contentious subjects. group would protest against? – Make it personal. See PPT presentation slides 5-14 Do 4 quick examples on the flipchart – 3 Note: slides 12 and 13 were created for that don’t follow the ‘Basic Elements’ and higher ability students by Hugh Hamshaw- one that does – i.e. not centred, small text, Thomas, a lecturer at Waltham Forest not related to the subject etc. College. Question group about which one works and why the others don’t. Look at examples.

45 min Brangwyn display Questions to ask: Gallery (Visit to William Morris Gallery or use of Why did Brangwyn create his posters – were visit/ image bank in the classroom) the posters effective and why? Classroom 1. Group activity: 15 min Refer to the ‘Basic Elements.’ Give brief history and context for three of How could ‘Put Strength in the Final Blow’ the posters. be seen to be anti-war? Are there any other Ask the students what they think of the posters that are ‘anti-war’ in the exhibition? piece you are looking at and how Brangwyn has incorporated the 5 ‘Basic Elements’. Facilitator to offer support and encourage Facilitator to do example of thumbnail careful observation skills – look at sketch. composition of the piece the students are drawing, the subject, light and dark/tone. 2. Individual work onto 2 x A4 pages: 30 min Each of the students does 4 x thumbnail sketches onto one A4 page and one large drawing from Brangwyn’s work on the other page. Capture why the piece was chosen, and what their personal response to the piece is.

1 hr. ‘Create your own personal protest poster’ Classroom Preparation for printing Facilitator should have an example to show 1. SLOGAN the group and it should show the different Select up to three words from selection of stages: slogan text – this will be the student’s 1. Thumbnail sketch slogan. 2. Text 3. Background shape (helps with planning

composition) 4. Relief Plates (two colours) 2. THUMBNAIL SKETCH TO PLAN FOR POSTER DESIGN Create thumbnail sketch of design including the selected text.

3. PREPARATION OF POSTER BACKGROUND PAPER Each student gets 1x A3 and 1x A4 coloured paper. Keep it simple – and don’t work too small. Cut A4 colour paper into a shape (circle, square, triangle, hand - a nice, big, simple shape) Paste coloured cut out shape onto A3 poster (cut into a simple shape and centre).

4. PLATES FOR PRINTING A4 craft foam is used to create a basic relief print. Facilitator explains idea of inside and outside shapes – printing two colour design. Draw design onto craft foam (there must be an ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ shape). Cut out craft foam into two shapes (inside and outside shape). Draw designs onto the craft foam (these will print as the details) by pushing hard with pencil.

45 min Lunch Break

1 hour Final preparation and printing: HOUSEKEEPING: Be aware of mess and ink Paste text onto poster. spills – clean as you go along – if you spill on Roll ink onto craft foam – two colours: the floor clean it up straight away. one colour onto the inside shape and one colour onto outside shape. MANAGE CLEAN UP AND YOUR SPACES SO Put two shapes back together and print THAT WE DON’T MAKE A HUGE MESS. onto the prepared poster. Review the success of the posters. IMPORTANT Have fun and see what happens – don’t worry about trying to control all the elements when it comes to printing – let the process take over and do its magical thing, and enjoy!

17 iii) Extending the project with older students: creating a digital design

These activities were created by Hugh Hamshaw-Thomas, an artist and lecturer at Waltham Forest College, and are aimed at higher ability students. The activities extend the use of Basic Elements of graphic design into a digital outcome using PhotoShop.

The objective is to make a poster that creates a unified visual whole that communicates an idea or concept clearly and forcefully. This can be done in an infinite number of ways dependent on how those formal elements are used to determine the outcome. It is only by playing with the relationships within the formal elements that a new and interesting outcome can be arrived at, so it is important to be playful with how the arrangements of all the parts work and relate together.

The exercises are based on the use of the elements of design looked at in the Creating Your Own Protest Poster project and assume that a jpeg has been made from each student’s print.

To get started:

 Drag/ Open your print jpeg in Photoshop  Create a new canvas (File/New) Complete the drop-down window for your canvas size and resolution  Suggested size A3 with a resolution of 150 - 300 px/in  Go to / click on your Print  Select the elements in the print design  Magic Wand or Quick Selection tool - (Magic Wand Tolerance set at 32 in Options Bar)  I.e. Click on the text / symbol / image and select / Once selected make each element into a new Layer (Layer/New/Layer via copy) drag layer into your new canvas

Recap the formal elements and devices in poster design. Refer to slides 12 and 13 of the Creating Your Own Protest Poster PowerPoint presentation. . Discuss:

Placement of objects Symmetry / asymmetry Layout Structure Underlying grid Geometry Shape Proportion Golden section Contrasts - light and dark Rhythm Repetition

As well as examples of Brangwyn’s work, students could search online for and discuss other posters with strong messages and interesting compositions. Students could research for example:

 Alfred Leete’s First World War recruitment posters  Gustav Klutsis’s Soviet propaganda posters  Shepard Fairey’s Obama presidential campaign posters  Peter Kennard’s photomontage works  Banksy’s graffiti on the West Bank Barrier  The Guerrilla Girls’ posters

Tools and options: Move Tool: Use the Move tool to move the elements around the rectangle/page Transform Tool: Edit/Transform/Scale - Press Shift to constrain (maintain) proportions Hue / Saturation: Image/Adjustments/ Hue-Saturation - To change hue and saturation of colour Brightness / Contrast: Image/Adjustments/Brightness-Contrast

 Consider where elements are placed within the rectangle / move around.  Consider how the elements use the space of the rectangle.  Consider how the elements create negative space / shape.  Consider the scale / size of the elements in relation to the rectangle.  Consider the scale / size of the elements in relation to each other.  Consider symmetry / asymmetry (centring/margining to left and right).

 Consider how the elements divide up the rectangle into rows/columns/bands/areas/golden section.  Consider whether there is a ‘grid‘/ structure beneath your layout.  Consider diagonals - do elements line up when you draw diagonals between corners?  Consider rhythm - how is the eye led around the page?  Consider pattern / repetition - how can these be used to be a visual device?

 Consider how colour is used - limited or abundant?  Consider how tone is used - naturalism / shadow / 3D / accent  Consider the use of line - hard / soft / flowing / delicate / strong / light / bold

 Consider how all these things communicate your idea and concept  Consider the hierarchy of information - what is the order of importance of information displayed?  Consider whether the design makes a harmonious visual whole  Consider whether your design is visually arresting / eye catching  Consider whether your poster communicates its desired message  Consider if meanings are clear from your design - does the image communicate the intention? Acknowledgements

These learning resources were created for William Morris Gallery by Anna Alcock, Rosie Fuller, Hugh Hamshaw-Thomas, Carien Kremer and Sharon Trotter.

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Supported by London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Images provided by: David Brangwyn Imperial War Museum http://www.iwm.org.uk Vestry House Museum http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/vestry-house Victoria and Albert Museum http://www.vam.ac.uk William Morris Gallery http://www.wmgallery.org.uk

September 2014