Concept Design
The Lovely Bones
ABOUT THE PROJECT
This poster design for The Lovely Bones is meant to portray the film’s balance between beauty and tragedy by visually representing the main character’s existence between life and death. The design aims to capture the dreamlike atmosphere of the “In-Between” while simultaneously acknowledging the darker reality of the story. I decided to use a semi-transparent effect on the main character to symbolize her spirit-like state and her ability to observe the living world from the “In-Between.” I also used a distant silhouette of the protagonist’s murderer to introduce a quiet but persistent darkness, lending a subtle disturbing effect that grounds the composition in the film’s tragic narrative. Overall, I wanted the poster to be representative of the film’s narrative and tone, hoping to convey both the unsettling beauty and dark tragedy that it communicates.
IDEATION
Below are brainstorms of themes, tone, and visual strategy during early conceptual development:
Themes: Grief | Loss | Trauma | Life, death, and the afterlife | Longing for what’s lost | Beauty contrasted with tragedy | Healing and acceptance
Tone: dark | emotionally heavy | suspenseful | unsettling | reflective and melancholic | surreal | dreamlike and ethereal
Visual Strategy:
Use of transparency and layering — communicates the main character’s ghostly presence and connection to both the living world and the “In-Between”Symbolic silhouette looking in the direction of the main character — having the figure of the murderer stare at Susie mimics his stalker-like tendencies within the movie, in which he watches his victims before killing them.Soft color palette with a hint of darkness — a soft color palette represents Susie’s innocence, youth, and inviting warmth as well as the purgatory that she’s been placed in. The dark-colored silhouette contrasts the beauty of the rest of the composition, emphasizing its emotional darkness. It shows that beauty and unease can coexist.
The Lovely Bones
Concept Design
ABOUT THE PROJECT
This poster design for The Lovely Bones is meant to portray the film’s balance between beauty and tragedy by visually representing the main character’s existence between life and death. The design aims to capture the dreamlike atmosphere of the “In-Between” while simultaneously acknowledging the darker reality of the story. I decided to use a semi-transparent effect on the main character to symbolize her spirit-like state and her ability to observe the living world from the “In-Between.” I also used a distant silhouette of the protagonist’s murderer to introduce a quiet but persistent darkness, lending a subtle disturbing effect that grounds the composition in the film’s tragic narrative. Overall, I wanted the poster to be representative of the film’s narrative and tone, hoping to convey both the unsettling beauty and dark tragedy that it communicates.
IDEATION
Below are brainstorms of themes, tone, and visual strategy during early conceptual development:
Themes: Grief | Loss | Trauma | Life, death, and the afterlife | Longing for what’s lost | Beauty contrasted with tragedy | Healing and acceptance
Tone: dark | emotionally heavy | suspenseful | unsettling | reflective and melancholic | surreal | dreamlike and ethereal
Visual Strategy:
Use of transparency and layering — communicates the main character’s ghostly presence and connection to both the living world and the “In-Between”Symbolic silhouette looking in the direction of the main character — having the figure of the murderer stare at Susie mimics his stalker-like tendencies within the movie, in which he watches his victims before killing them.Soft color palette with a hint of darkness — a soft color palette represents Susie’s innocence, youth, and inviting warmth as well as the purgatory that she’s been placed in. The dark-colored silhouette contrasts the beauty of the rest of the composition, emphasizing its emotional darkness. It shows that beauty and unease can coexist.
The Lovely Bones
Concept Design
ABOUT THE PROJECT
This poster design for The Lovely Bones is meant to portray the film’s balance between beauty and tragedy by visually representing the main character’s existence between life and death. The design aims to capture the dreamlike atmosphere of the “In-Between” while simultaneously acknowledging the darker reality of the story. I decided to use a semi-transparent effect on the main character to symbolize her spirit-like state and her ability to observe the living world from the “In-Between.” I also used a distant silhouette of the protagonist’s murderer to introduce a quiet but persistent darkness, lending a subtle disturbing effect that grounds the composition in the film’s tragic narrative. Overall, I wanted the poster to be representative of the film’s narrative and tone, hoping to convey both the unsettling beauty and dark tragedy that it communicates.
IDEATION
Below are brainstorms of themes, tone, and visual strategy during early conceptual development:
Themes: Grief | Loss | Trauma | Life, death, and the afterlife | Longing for what’s lost | Beauty contrasted with tragedy | Healing and acceptance
Tone: dark | emotionally heavy | suspenseful | unsettling | reflective and melancholic | surreal | dreamlike and ethereal
Visual Strategy:
Use of transparency and layering — communicates the main character’s ghostly presence and connection to both the living world and the “In-Between”Symbolic silhouette looking in the direction of the main character — having the figure of the murderer stare at Susie mimics his stalker-like tendencies within the movie, in which he watches his victims before killing them.Soft color palette with a hint of darkness — a soft color palette represents Susie’s innocence, youth, and inviting warmth as well as the purgatory that she’s been placed in. The dark-colored silhouette contrasts the beauty of the rest of the composition, emphasizing its emotional darkness. It shows that beauty and unease can coexist.