A moment in visual culture - Implications of the slow movement for graphic design: 'Slow' and 'flexible' poster

'Slow', which is considered as an alternative to the fact of 'fast" as a teaching of the modern world, has the potential of offering a new perspective in respect to graphic design. In the scope of graphic design, this thesis makes contribution to the ongoing discussions in the literature since the first years of 2000 covering a large spectrum of subjects from 'slow food' to 'slow fashion, 'Cittaslow', and 'slow art'. Towards this end, it is questioned how the art of poster, which is a single image by its very nature, can be 'slow'. This study employs a 'holistic' approach to understand and explain the philosophical roots of the Slow Movement, which is actually political movement. In this context, this study seeks to reveal the connection between critical thought and visual culture by referring to the consumer society and its dependence on the visuality. This thesis suggests a conceptual framework to the subject of 'slow graphic design' which has been largely neglected in the related literature. Drawing on an analysis of some selected poster designs, and the thinking systems of 'fast' and 'slow' by Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel prize winner economist, this thesis develops a design proposal of 'slow poster'. However, there seems to a problem of 'elitism' in the existing understanding of 'slow poster' as in other areas of 'slow'. This study aims to overcome this problem by 'flexibility'. 'Humor' is suggested as an element bringing about this 'flexibility'. Thanks to 'humor', it is sought to catch the attention of viewers, and direct them to deep thinking. In the last part, the artist-researcher designs a series of posters to indicate how 'slow' and 'fast' poster designs might be. Those posters are described and interpreted in respect to their forms and content. Consequently, the purpose of the study is to mobilize sensitive and creative forms of thinking through posters designed in the scope of this thesis.