Examination of World War I propaganda posters investigation in terms of design items and principles

As a communication method, poster has been one of the most dynamic and effective products of graphic design from past to present. Especially in the First World War, due to the fact that the means of audio and video broadcasting were not widespread yet, the poster was widely used as a propaganda material in order to call and mobilize the masses. Although the aim of graphic design as a branch of art in this period was not art, artistic expression forms were used in order to establish an impressive communication. Thus, the poster met the propaganda needs of the states and became a means of influence on people. In this research, it is aimed to examine the posters in the First World War in terms of graphic arts. In the introductory and second part of the research, the concept of communication was examined, and in the third part, it was aimed to understand the place of graphic design in communication by giving place to the conceptual expression of graphic design. In the continuation of the third section, the concept of poster as a graphic design product, in the fourth section, the concepts of propaganda and the effects of propaganda on the course of history are mentioned, and in the fourth section, how the poster is fed from graphic design as a communication and subsequently a propaganda product, and the methods of influencing the masses of propaganda posters are mentioned. In the light of these examinations, the effects of the posters, which are widely used in the propaganda of the First World War, on the course of the war and its outcome were revealed by considering the graphic design aspect of the research. Thus, the conceptual result of the research revealed how powerful the graphic design and designer is in conveying propaganda. Keywords: World War I, graphic design, propaganda, poster.