Abstract:

AN EXAMPLE OF THE TRANSFORMATION FROM POSTER DESIGN TO ICONIC MASCOT; GUINNESS POSTERS OF JOHN GILROY 1929-1965 ABSTRACT John Gilroy produced posters and advertisements for the Guinnes company between 1929 and 1965. These posters and the characters on the posters were highly appreciated and attracted by the consumer and the target audience of the brand. Over time, the characters on the posters became synonymous with the brand and Irish culture. As a matter of fact, these characters have started to be used as mascots independent of the brand's promotion. Gilroy's talent and the strong humorous expression language used in his posters are at the forefront of the reasons behind this important success of Gilroy. However, in addition to the conditions of the period when Gilroy's posters were published, the developments in the cardboard and cartoon industry in the world should not be ignored. For this reason, it is especially important for poster designers to examine the reasons why the Guinness posters produced by Gilroy have become a valuable image independent of the brand beyond the popularity and recognition it has gained. In this context, in this study, the contents of the posters that Gilroy designed for Guinness between 1929 and 1965 were examined with the qualitative description method, together with the archive and literature review. Keywords: Mascot, Cartoon, Poster, Poster Design, John Gilroy.

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