ALMOST POPULAR
ALMOST POPULAR
CLIENT
LOCATION
TYPE
FORMAT
Patriot Picture
Los Angeles
Graphic Design
Movie Poster
ALMOST POPULAR:
A poster with a youthful touch
Almost Popular is a film I had the privilege of collaborating on with Patriot Pictures, a former employer of mine. I initially joined the project as part of the development team but later transitioned to the marketing team.
The film follows high-school juniors Susie and Bobbie on their quest to become part of the elite Pop Girls, the most popular students at school. However, after a series of unfortunate and humiliating attempts, they soon learn what's really important.
In marketing, I took the lead on expanding the film’s reach, aiming to secure a larger production company to distribute this independent title. I also attended its premiere at Dances With Films in Los Angeles in August 2024, supporting the launch and connecting with potential distributors. Below is my journey to creating this poster, Enjoy!
The first step was identifying the target audience and how best to attract them. Since I also led the project’s marketing, I had full control over the poster’s style.
I set out to create a poster that felt youthful, vibrant, and instantly relatable to a teen and young adult audience. The first two initial drafts (below) focuses on the theme of the film, prom and social media, as we see on the left with the heels in the center with a basic credit, on the right I have a basic yet social media driven poster, that doesn't feature any of out cast.
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The early drafts lacked impact, so I pivoted to brighter, more saturated colors and placed the main character front and center for a clearer visual focus.
For typography, we used the film’s theme colors with hand-drawn lettering and a whimsical crown, adding a casual, diary-like tone that hints at her ambitions with humor.
In the bottom-right image, the warm sweater and rainbow socks create energy and warmth, while her relaxed pose and gaze at the phone highlight the story’s core theme—social media and the pursuit of online popularity.
By focusing on her alone rather than an ensemble, the design builds a strong, memorable identity for the film, positioning it clearly in the teen comedy/drama space and ensuring the poster could live just as naturally on a bedroom wall as it could in a social media feed.
After completing the main poster, we created an alternate version for promotional use and inclusion in the electronic press kit (left).
