Poster, poster on the wall ...
The Fulcrum decides what candidate posters say about their owners, and which is the fairest one of all
AFTER THE RUSH to get their posters up and in the best places on Jan. 31 for the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) election Feb. 9–11, the Fulcrum scouted out the most attention-grabbing posters to critique. For reasons both good and bad, these posters stood out to us. Since posters are the primary exposure to candidates that most students have, we thought we'd rate the quality of these select few. The panel of judges consists of Laura Clementson, news editor, and Amanda Shendruk, production manager.
Sarah-Jayne King
Desired position: vp finance LC: Among the many traditional-looking election posters, King’s stands out the most. It has personality and information. It stands out to me because her picture gives off a friendly demeanor and radiates University of Ottawa patriotism (she’s standing in front of our most recognizable building, Tabaret Hall). Under that is her name in big, bold letters. The rest of the writing doesn’t really stand out, but her bright picture will attract people to read more. AS: This poster isn’t the most original, but it may be the most professional. It is well-designed—not too much text, good colour choices, and a down-to-earth, approachable photo. It doesn’t jump out from the wall of similar posters, but what it lacks in creativity it makes up for in font size. King is an easily remembered last name, and this poster capitalizes on that. She’ll get the “I’ll just pick a name because I can’t remember anything about the candidates” vote for sure.
Tyler Steeves
Desired position: president LC: This poster screams strategy—everything from the way the information is conveyed, to the picture of Steeves, to the overall concept. The poster is well-organized, it gets the point across, and it’s definitely very original. It’s nice to see a more artistic idea and not just a generic poster, which usually includes a fake-looking mug shot and way too much writing. AS: Steeves’ poster shows originality, creativity, and great choice of colour. It grabs your attention because it is artistic and simple. The lack of words is enough to make it proudly stand out on the walls plastered with text-heavy campaign promotions. Overall, the best poster I’ve seen.
Sidney Loko
Desired position: vp finance LC: Initially, while looking at this, I wanted to grab my toothbrush because the mint green is too fresh for my liking. Getting past the nauseating colour, where is Sidney Loko? He has various characters on many of his posters, so I have yet to figure out who Sidney Loko is. The lack of seriousness of this poster makes me wonder how you could organize the SFUO’s budget. I hope you’re better at Excel spreadsheets than poster making... AS: Will the real Sidney Loko please stand up? I’m all for not having your mug in your campaign, but the cast of characters he employs in his series of posters has me confused, not intrigued. Which one, if any, is the actual candidate? And how does an overly enthusiastic, attractive girl compel me to vote for you?
Stéphanie Marentette
Desired position: vp university affairs LC: It’s a visually attractive picture. She looks friendly and honest, although in some ways I'm reminded of a quirky grade-school photo. It’s original, but the information is too jammed together. Overall, a solid effort and definitely a Facebook-display-picture-worthy photo. AS: I feel more inclined to hire Marentette for the production of my next Broadway musical than for vp university affairs. However, I could be convinced to vote for her if she promised to arrange and lead the SFUO in choreographed song and dance at every BOA meeting. On a more serious note, the use of the single colour is fantastic! It’s grabbing, artistic, and shows an understanding of basic design principles. I agree with Laura though, I can hardly read the text.
Tristan Dénommée
Desired position: vp communications LC: This looks like a cheap movie poster for a low budget movie. And I don’t think I’d pay to see it. The poster is too intimidating for someone who is running for the communications position. If he wins, I’d be too afraid that I’d have to go through some sort of initiation process before talking to him. AS: I’m worried that if I vote for this guy, the mob is going to take over the SFUO. On the other hand, he looks intimidating enough that I think I would be afraid not to vote for him.
Nicole Tishler
Desired position: vp student affairs LC: While I appreciate the idea of the background text, it’s all blurred because her photo is too overpowering. It makes everything else on the poster seem insignificant in comparison. Please note that an attractive girl doesn’t always make for an attractive poster. While the colours and picture are nice, it would be nicer to have a solid poster and not floating ideas. AS: The top of this poster should say “Harper's Bazaar,” not “Nicole Tishler.” The only thing missing from this fashion magazine cover is more skin and story teasers about the 10 ways to make the perfect ponytail and five outfits you can’t live without. The colours are great and the name is bold and grabbing, but overall this poster is too much Seventeen and not enough substance.
Gilles Duceppe
Desired position: ???
LC: Besides the fact that I can’t understand everything on this poster—brilliant poster, Mr. Duceppe. Why aren’t you on this campus? Or wait, are you? Because this looks like a poster for the SFUO elections. Either way, I love the colour scheme and the mug shot that says “I will eat Seamus Wolfe,” and those fierce blue eyes of his, almost comparable to Harper’s glare. AS: Is Duceppe running for SFUO president? On a wall of campaign posters, this cut-out head, bold-text name, and tri-colour poster fits right in. In fact, Duceppe’s poster makes a stronger statement than most of the student campaigns. In a poster dog-fight it’s hard to say whether Steeves or Duceppe would come out on top. You’ve got my vote, Gilles.
I strongly disagree regarding the comments about Sidney Loko. His posters and fresh and and intriguing. In my opinion, he puts OTHER students on his posters because the idea is that he represents the people and it is the people who are important.
I will be voting for Sidney Loko because he cares about me and my fellow students.