NMIX 6011E: Photoshop Movie Poster Project
This summer, I entered the world of design for the first time by enrolling in New Media Design (NMIX 6011) as the start of my Emerging Media Master’s Double Dawg Program. Throughout the course, I gained experience using industry-standard tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva, and Figma.
When I was tasked to redesign a film poster of my choice, I began with minimal experience in Photoshop, but by the end, my skills and understanding of the software had grown considerably.
For my movie poster, I chose to reimagine Sinners, written and directed by Ryan Coogler. When I first watched the film in May, I was deeply moved by its production, its symbolic storytelling, and how it depicted racial oppression during the Jim Crow Era metaphorically through the embodiment of vampires. I wanted to create a poster that reflected the same depth and meaning I took away from the film.
In my (admittedly biased) opinion, I believe it is one of the best movies to be made in a very long time, despite the fact that I’m not particularly drawn to the horror/thriller genre. What made Sinners stand out to me was how it used symbolism to strengthen its message. The original poster leaned heavily into a warm orange-and-yellow color palette and prioritized intensity over nuance. I wanted to reimagine it in a way that subtly captures its complexity.
Visual Choices
I began by selecting an image of the film’s twin protagonists, nicknamed Smoke and Stack. The brothers are representative of good vs. evil, or in a biblical sense, a form of Cain and Abel. I intentionally chose a photo that reflected their personalities and symbolic contrast. Smoke, in a blue cap, represents calm, caution and groundedness. Stack’s red fedora suggests scheming, recklessness, impulsiveness and what the film frames as a path towards “eternal damnation.”
The original photo only showed their upper bodies, and because I needed a vertical layout for the poster format, I used Photoshop’s generative expand tool to extend their bodies downward. This allowed the image to better fit the frame and gave me more space to work with.
To fill the upper portion of the poster and connect to one of the film’s most powerful scenes, I used a still from the fire sequence. I again used generative tools to resize and extend the image downward.
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This moment explores several themes of the film: oppression, assimilation, the power of music, culture, and a guise of freedom. I felt it needed to be incorporated into the poster because of the significant role it plays in the story.
Editing Techniques
After layering the images, I adjusted the brightness and contrast of specific areas in the image of the twins to correct areas that were overexposed in the original photo. I then applied additional adjustments to the entire image to match the dark, moodier tones of the background and help the entire photo blend together.
Typography & Layout
I added the title Sinners in Adobe’s font, Abolition, placing it behind the twins so it appeared integrated into the scene rather than sitting on top of it. Below the title, I placed the tagline, “Dance with the Devil,” and arranged the director’s name above it for added emphasis. I also included the release date and actor credits at the top and bottom of the poster to follow traditional movie formats.
Results
One thing I focused on heavily was the film’s symbolism, and although I was successful in evoking a dramatic, tense feel, I fell short in fully conveying the genre. Sinners isn’t a traditional horror movie with dark corridors, mist, and eeriness but it still has thriller and vampire elements that I didn’t communicate as well as I intended. If I were to go back, I would incorporate more genre-specific cues, like subtle references to vampires and shift the color palette to include darker tones such as deep reds, purples, and black.
Overall, this project not only helped me grow as a designer, but it also gave me a deeper appreciation for how visuals can carry meaning and shape the way a story is told.
