The poster of the musical Hamilton is now a coveted pop culture symbol by itself. Let’s dive deeper into its symbolism and design features.
Meaning and history
The musical premiered on January 20, 2015, in The Public Theater in New York City. The theatrical sensation tells the story of the American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. As of June 2019, tickets were sold for up to $1,800.
Emblem
The Hamilton logo depicts the main hero, Alexander Hamilton, standing in a triumphant pose on a star with its top point cut. In other words, the man’s silhouette stands in the place of the missing point.
Versions of the symbol
This type of logo can be easily adapted to various backgrounds – the feature often used to create special versions of the poster.
You can also find a series of posters that were rejected and didn’t make it out to Broadway. They were published in the book On Broadway: From Rent to Revolution (2016).
One of the versions features just an ink stain, which can be broken down into meaningful elements with the figure of Hamilton in the center. Moreover, there is also another ink stain version, which features only Hamilton’s head. The book also includes a poster showcasing a black feather on the red background and a poster with a hand holding a feather. You could also see several versions sporting the letter “H” in different styles: a retro style “H”, an “H” made up of golden dust and written with the help of spray paint.
On the whole, we can say that the final version appears to be a perfect balance between the number of details and implied meaning.
Font
The official poster combines two absolutely different types. To begin with, the one used for the second line looks more elongated and is a sans serif font, while the letters of the first line are broader and belong to a serif font.
The word “Hamilton” probably features the Trajan font. The type known for its retro elegance was developed in 1989 by Carol Twombly for Adobe. As for the second line, it appears to be based on the Gotham Bold Condensed typeface.
On the whole, both types provide excellent legibility. We can assume that an old style serif font was used for the name of the main hero to fit the plot of the musical, which is set in 18th-century America.
Colors
The palette of the Hamilton logo is built upon the combination of gold and black with white accents. Due to the gradient effect, the poster features various shades of gold, from rather dark and gloomy, to light semi-transparent ones.