We've seen some clever movie posters in our time, but there are some that continue to stand out years after the release of the film they promoted. That's the case of an ingenious poster design for the brilliant 2016 Japanese anime film Your Name.
The poster is printed with different designs on each side. the magic happens when you hold it up to the light, and the two designs merge to create a full picture. But it's more than just a trick for the sake of being clever; the design perfectly communicates the theme of the film (see our favourite poster designs for more inspiration).
The picture of the Japanese movie advertisement is printed on two sides of the newspaper, so the full picture could be seen under light from r/DesignPorn
Your Name is a CoMix Wave Films anime movie directed by Makoto Shinkai. It tells the story of two school students, Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu who suddenly begin to swap bodies despite the fact that they've never met. The clever poster design features Tachibana on one side and Miyamizu on the other. But hold it up to the light and the two characters are both visible separated by crepuscular rays from the horizon.
Impractical? Well the magic of the poster doesn't work if you just put it on a wall, but it can be placed on a lightbox. Movie posters are often printed on both sides, but with a mirror image, to prevent the design from looking washed out when a light is shone through it. In this case, the design on each side is different, and the backwards writing on one side should point people towards lifting it to the light to discover the effect.
The design is currently gaining much praise again on Reddit. "Great idea, fits the theme of the movie really well," one person commented. Some are amazed that the printer was accurate enough to make the design work. "As someone who works in the largest printing plant in North America, I can tell you as a pressman, the crew on that press was cursing the customer the entire job," one commenter insisted.
Need to upgrade your setup for your own poster designs? See the best current prices on Adobe's Creative Cloud Suite below.
Read more:
Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter
Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.