Go the F*** to Sleep Object Posters

Created in spring 2025 for ADN 502 (Visualizing Narrative)

Prompt: The Sachplakat–otherwise known as Plakastil or object poster–was a style of advertisement that developed in Germany in the early 20th century. Artists explored the direct relationship between word and image, forever changing advertising and graphic design. Using the same banned book from project 1, choose 1 word to represent each of the 3 following categories that explain some aspect of your book.

  • A descriptive, tangible word from the story itself
  • A theme from the book (love, jealousy, etc.) that is core to the story
  • A word that is analogous or metaphoric to one of the ideas above

My Banned Book: Go the F*** to Sleep by Adam Mansbach.

3 Words: Bedtime, Obstinate, & F***

Sketches

For the sake of time, I used notes to describe what the posters would look like rather than fully draw them out.

Iterations

First, I played around with the layout of the words within the context of the poster’s imagery.

Then, I started testing different fonts in the space. I wanted “Bedtime” to be playful but bold, and ended up going with the more playful side. For the “Obstinate” poster, I wanted the word to look like it had been written on the wall by the child. That’s why, in the final version, I misspelled it “Obstinent” to emphasize that a child made it. In the case of the “F***” poster, I played around with 3D effects to make the text resemble a mobile a bit more. The super stylized fonts looked way too busy and stylized compared to the other two, so I went with a more subtle shadow. I ended up choosing uppercase for every word to feel more disgruntled.

Final Products

My poster series depicts the emotional journey of a parent attempting to put their child to sleep. The first poster, in deep blue, represents initial calm as the parent, hoping to lull their child to sleep, accidentally dozes off while reading—only to wake and find the child still wide awake. Frustration builds in the second poster, shifting to an uneasy green as the restless child clings to the increasingly agitated parent, with the word “obstinate” misspelled in crayon on the wall, hinting at their defiance. The final poster erupts in chaotic red, capturing the parent’s utter exhaustion and exasperation as their child throws a tantrum, pushing them to the brink of a mental breakdown.

Check out the first project I did about Go the F*** to Sleep.