Project Information
The poster titled "Attention! I’m Red" was created by Nell May for the Present Tense : Wāhine Toi Aotearoa project. This initiative highlights the work and visibility of women designers in Aotearoa New Zealand. May uses the poster to demand space and recognition, using the color red as a literal and metaphorical tool to represent presence, urgency, and the act of being seen in a historically male-dominated industry.
I absolutely love this poster - it probably caught my eye the most because of the type and boldness.
The first thing that hits you about this poster is the color. Using a saturated, vibrant red wouldn’t have just been an aesthetic choice but a functional one. If we focus on psychology red is linked to urgency and passion, forcing an immediate reaction when seeing the color. By pairing this bold backdrop with the word “Attention!” The designer is creating a visual shout that is hard to ignore.
The contract between the two type styles I another attention grabber. At the top we have a rigid formal sans-serif that feels like a corporate command. Below is a handwritten “I’m Red”, it looks loose, gestural and feels human. This juxtaposition creates a certain dialogue on the page making it feel as if a personal voice is breaking through a formal announcement.
If we look at the negative space It really reassures that sometimes less is more. Even though the handwritten letters are massive and almost go out of frame, the composition doesn’t feel cluttered. The red background acts as a breathing space that really binds everything together allowing the viewer to move directly from the command “Attention!” to the handwritten shout “I’m Red” without any distractions - its easier to read.
Overall Impact
Overall, the poster is visually powerful and incredibly clear in its messaging. Through the clever use of scale and contrast, May turns a simple color into a statement of existence. It’s a contemporary piece that effectively uses minimalist design to ask for the one thing every designer wants: to be noticed and recognized.
To record the current landscape of women* in design and give visibility to the unsung diversity of Aotearoa design, Designers Speak (Up) mad
