
In the Spring of 2008, Kanye West embarked on his critically acclaimed tour, “Glow in the Dark.” The tour spanned four continents and featured forty-nine total shows during its eight month run. The overall theme of the tour emphasized the use of colors, while also incorporating countless visual stimuli, such as lasers and flashing strobe lights. The official concert poster reflected many of the concert’s elements, and enticed the viewer into looking deeper through it’s use of vivid color, and conveyance of the concert’s futuristic theme.

At its most basic level, the poster is a simple advertisement for an upcoming tour. The face of the headlining artist is displayed, along with the name of the tour. Below the design and main lines of text, the poster also advertises that there will be several opening acts, and a small variety of different guests. The name “Kanye West” is featured most prominently at the top, which can help the viewer infer that he is most likely the one headlining the tour. Between this is the title of the tour, which will allow viewers to look it up online, or discuss it with their friends. In smaller text below, The names Rihanna, N.E.R.D, and Lupe Fiasco are displayed. These names are typed in smaller lettering, which signals that they are smaller acts, and will not have as much impact on the overall show. The poster also features visually appealing colors and an almost surrealist head to subtly inform the viewer of the overall theme of the tour.

When the artist of the poster for “Glow in the Dark” created the poster, it was clear that West’s head and face should be at the forefront in order to inform the viewer of who the headliner was without using too much text. The head itself is centered at the forefront of the poster, so that the viewer gets a close look at the figure. In order to stand out, the artist colorizes his head with bright neon colors. The use of these colors allows West’s head to stand out among other graphics within the picture, and contrasts well with the black background of the poster.  Also featured on the head is a pair of sunglasses, known as shutter shades, which obscure West’s eyes. As this was his fashion style at the time, the glasses themselves may not harbor a deeper meaning but a viewer could also interpret this as West being eager to hide his eyes from public view. One could argue that he wishes to keep an air of mystique within the poster, therefore not showing his entire face. The frame of the glasses help relate to the larger futuristic theme, as they do not follow a standard design of sunglasses.

Within the poster, the overall theme depicts a futuristic, and almost trippy view. Due to it’s use of unconventional colors and designs, it attracts the viewer in a way that will make them question what they can expect if they go to see the show. Featured at the bottom is the title of the tour, “Glow in the Dark.” This accompanies the portrait on the poster in a way that reinforces some of the themes. Should the viewer go to see a show, it can be assumed that there will be bright colors, based on the title and the portrait of the head. Another interesting aspect is the almost “retro futuristic” font that the title in printed in. It gives the viewer the same vibe as Space Mountain at Disney World would, designed in a way that reflects how people fifty years ago believed the future would look. Focusing just above the words, a large amount of cables and coils appear to make up the body. This is particularly interesting because it can be interpreted in different ways. The main way it can be viewed is as a robot, which coincides with the overall futuristic theme. The mechanical pieces are signature to robots, although the only contradiction is that his head doesn’t follow the rest of the robot theme. Due to the bright and vivid colors in the head, the outer makeup of this robot would be incredibly unconventional. Luckily this can all be drawn to the overall theme of an unconventional and colorful depiction.

When these elements all come together it’s clear the the tour is being marketed both to Kanye West fans, and those who are interested in Sci Fi. Kanye fans can appreciate that it is being advertised as a major tour with multiple guests, and it’s easy to see that his face at the forefront of the poster will draw them in. There is also the appealing option for fans of sci fi, who are being shown that it will be an incredibly cutting edge and futuristic experience. The visual text is demanding both types of fans to look further into what’s being offered, as it features a striking eyecatcher, and a small amount of additional information. While it doesn’t go into great detail on the logistics, it hints at just enough that anyone who is already interested by the poster will want additional information on it. It helps to appeal to emotions by bringing out a sense of curiosity, and a possible nostalgic feeling when it comes to the use of retro futurism as a device. The poster hopes to reinforce these feelings within the viewer by allowing them to assume that the concert will likely feature heavy visual effects and then supports this through the close look at the major visual points. This helps to tie in to the posters overall theme by hinting at a grandiose experience, explicitly giving examples of what can be expected, and also keeping a light air of mystery that can show that it has some surprises waiting.

Throughout many of the works of Kanye West, he has provided his fans with a heavily artistic experience. His work on the “Glow in the Dark Tour” is no exception as it offers an innovative futuristic experience that can be enjoyed by anyone who is a fan of his work or of the special effects he is known to utilize. During the course of the tour, lasers were used regularly, robots appeared on stage, and the backdrops and set pieces often were designed in a futuristic space theme. This helps to deliver on the promises of the poster, and was unlikely to leave those intrigued by it disappointed. The visual text itself is incredibly accurate in depicted what the viewer can expect, while also leaving an open ended mystery that they will need to further explore on their own.
