Starting a design process with pure black thumbnails to get a strong “silhouette” is a well-known strategy for designers. It’s very popular in the entertainment industry, where elements must remain distinctive for the audience when random things fly around the screen.
Marcus Blättermann has a review of why he thinks the designs of the Star Wars universe is awesome, and there I found this striking display of silhouettes that most of us know at least one or two of.
I guess it’s debatable wether we recognise the subject because the silhouette is strong, or we recognise the silhouette because our knowledge of the subject is strong (Star Wars is pretty much the pinnacle of pop culture sci fi) but it was interesting nonetheless how quickly and effortlessly I “knew” where Yoda, Vader, the TIE fighter and the AT-AT was without looking for them.
