Problem Description:
The design of Iranian movie posters underwent significant transformations in the early 1990s, shifting away from the theme-based and director-centric approaches dominant in the 1980s. This shift marked a move toward a more conceptual and visually engaging approach to cinematic poster design. Abbas Kiarostami, as one of the most influential filmmakers of this period, not only revolutionized Iranian cinema but also introduced a distinct style in the design of his film posters. These posters transcend their basic promotional function, serving as semiotic texts that establish a deeper connection between the film and its audience. This study aims to analyze the semiotic structure of Abbas Kiarostami's movie posters in the 1990s, examining how visual and textual elements reflect the themes and content of the films they represent and how these elements align with their communicative and promotional functions, with a particular emphasis on Peirce’s semiotic theory.
Objectives
This study seeks to:
• Identify and analyze the semiotic features of Abbas Kiarostami’s movie posters from the 1990s in terms of form, composition, typography, and color.
• Examine the relationship between the semiotic elements employed in these posters and their communicative-advertising function.
• Assess the degree of alignment between the visual elements of the posters and the content of the films they represent, using Peirce’s semiotic model.
Research Questions
• What are the formal, textual, and compositional characteristics of Abbas Kiarostami’s movie posters in the 1990s from a semiotic perspective, according to Peirce’s model?
• How do the semiotic elements in these posters function in relation to their advertising and communicative roles, in light of Peirce’s tripartite semiotic framework?
• To what extent do the visual and textual elements in Kiarostami’s posters correspond to the themes and content of the films, in alignment with Peirce’s semiotic model of representation?
Research Methodology
This study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach within the framework of Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotic model. A library-documentary method is employed for data collection. The research sample consists of four movie posters from Abbas Kiarostami’s films produced in the 1990s, selected based on their visual distinctiveness and semiotic richness. The analysis is conducted using Peirce’s tripartite semiotic framework—Representamen (signifier), Object (signified), and Interpretant (interpretation)—to decode the visual and textual signs embedded in the posters. Each poster is examined based on its dominant semiotic features, considering the interplay of iconic, indexical, and symbolic signs within the design. The study also compares the posters designed by Kiarostami himself with those designed by other artists, particularly Morteza Momayez, to highlight stylistic and conceptual differences.
Significance and Importance
This study contributes to a deeper understanding of Iranian graphic design history and its evolution in cinematic poster design. It reveals that Kiarostami’s posters exhibit characteristics of the Polish school of design, emphasizing minimalism, painterly aesthetics, and conceptual storytelling. In contrast, the poster for Through the Olive Trees (designed by Morteza Momayez) reflects a more American-style approach, focusing on character depiction and direct audience engagement. The study highlights the unique role of semiotics in Iranian film posters and its impact on audience perception, cinematic branding, and artistic expression. Additionally, the findings can serve as a reference for contemporary graphic designers seeking to create movie posters that are both visually compelling and conceptually rich.
Results
Findings indicate that visual elements dominate over textual components in Kiarostami’s posters, with typography playing a secondary role. The posters primarily employ iconic, indexical, and symbolic signs, with indexical and symbolic signs playing a more crucial role in meaning-making. In all cases, a direct relationship exists between the poster’s visual elements and the film’s core themes, rather than explicit plot representation. For instance: In The Wind Will Carry Us, the winding road and the lone motorcyclist symbolize the film’s themes of journey and self-discovery. In Taste of Cherry, the solitary tree represents existential dilemmas and the choice between life and death. In Through the Olive Trees, the positioning of the characters reflects the tension and emotional distance in the film. In Life and Nothing More, the cracked wall serves as an indexical sign of destruction and resilience. The results suggest that Kiarostami’s posters serve not merely as promotional materials but as semiotic bridges between the film and its audience, reinforcing the philosophical and thematic essence of his cinematic works. These insights can help contemporary graphic designers refine their approaches to movie poster design, ensuring that promotional materials are not only effective marketing tools but also meaningful artistic expressions.