Gendy AlimurungJustin Van Genderen is a graphic designer in Chicago. He made these minimalist travel posters for the locations in Star Wars. The posters are quite beautiful and are reminiscent of classic travel posters from decades past.
How come you didn't make a poster for the Death Star?
I actually did make a poster for the Death Star. The reason I didn't post it to the web was because it didn't seem to fit with the overall theme. All the other posters were planets and had a feel of a destination to them. That idea just didn't seem to fit with an intergalactic planet-destroying weapon.
If you had to take a vacation at one of the places you've made posters for, where would you go? Hoth? Tatooine? Dagobah with Yoda?
Well it would be pretty nice to sit down and talk with Yoda, However I have always had a love for the deserts of Totooine. I'm not exactly sure why, I'm drawn to the vastness of it I suppose. I also wouldn't mind watching a pod-race, that looks like it may be fun.
Your posters look sort of vintage. Were you inspired by any particular era of design?
I was inspired a great deal by the work of Simon Page and his astrology series. If anyone enjoys this style of art I would highly recommend they check out his work. I also drew ideas from old Art Deco style prints and vintage science fiction posters from the 1960/70's.
Are you going to sell the posters at some point? I would totally buy one.
I haven't figured out the best avenue for selling these yet. If folks are interested they can email me at [justinVG at gmail dot com] and I'll add them to an email list.
What did you make them for? Was it a school project? Or were they commissioned work? Just for kicks?
This series was made entirely for my own enjoyment. I'm constantly trying out new design styles and techniques to stay on top of my craft. After watching the original Star Wars trilogy and thinking of how old these movies must seem to the newer, younger generation of Star Wars fans the idea just came to me.
Dagobah seems like it would be the hardest to come up with an image for. It's such a murky, swampy place. Was that your experience?
Dagobah was a challenge, I remember going through lots of different fog and tree root effects before deciding that the picture needed to be simpler. It seemed like the more elements I removed from the picture the better it looked. Before I new it I had removed everything but the paper stained background and the circle and it just worked.
Are you going to make posters for other Star Wars locations? Maybe Alderaan. Or wherever the Wookies come from?
I have started work on a new set that concentrates more on the planets of the new Star Wars trilogy.
This is Justin's design for the Death Star, sans type treatment. Note the cheerful black sky:
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.