Elements in these posters

1. Elon Musk and Twitter

a. Musk is looking straight at the reader
b. The Twitter birds being caged
c. Musk is holding the cage at eye level, almost as if he is taunting someone with it
2. Day One
a. Disheveled office with spray paint all over, curtains were torn, papers everywhere
b. Biden is looking out the window, seemingly unaware of the mess in his office
c. The text is short and succinct, straight to the point, and inspires fear when combined with
the imagery
3. King Me
a. We can only see trumps face in the reflection
b. Contrast between trump in his suit and in the king's clothes in the mirror
c. Proud expression of trump in the mirror, looking down on the reader
4. Trumps War on Washington
a. Uncaring expression on trump, he is casually leaning against the tower like it is nothing,
on his phone- gives the impression that he doesn't care about what is happening
b. The broken Washington monument with the white house in the background; the
monument is broken but has not fallen
c. stormy/cloudy background gives the impression that more is to come or a storm is
brewing

Common Elements
1. Muted color palette save for a few bright colors
a. The majority of the color palette features not super bright colors, almost like it's a gloomy
day. He also likes to use a lot of red and blues, which could have some political
connotations. The colors that are the brightest are usually the reds and the blues. The
“Trump's war on Washington” cover is the perfect example of this. Most of the colors
look muted and not very bright (in this case it is quite literally a cloudy day). The
brightest color on the cover is the red of Trump's tie. Similarly, on the “King me” cover,
the brightest color is the red of Trump's clothing in his reflection. The Elon Musk and
Twitter cover the blue of the birds is the brightest.
2. Central figure - individual
 a. Each of these covers features a central figure (the desk is considered a central figure in
the “day one” cover). This figure is the highlight of the story benign advertised. In the
trump stories, the covers feature a portrayal of trump in the center of the magazine. In the
story about Elon Musk and Twitter, the cover features Musk in the center of the
magazine. These figures are meant to draw attention to who the story is primarily
discussing. Also important to note in the use of these figures is their facial expressions
and eye contact. For example, Musk has an almost cold expression but is making direct
eye contact with the reader of the magazine. This implies almost a challenge. In contrast,
on the “king me” cover, Trump is looking down on the reader, creating the feeling of a
power dynamic.
3. Text placement next to the central figure
a. The text that is introducing the story is nearly always placed next to the central figure.
This is mainly because the viewer's eyes are drawn to this central figure, so the text is
more easily noticeable. Also, the text is always associated with the central figure, so by
placing the text next to the central figure, it furthers this connection in the mind of the
reader. The text is also always placed in an area where the color of the text can contrast
easily with the color of the background. This is mostly for ease of reading, but it also
emphasizes the boldness of the statements the article is making.

Further Questions
1. Does O'Brien have a clear political bias? How can you tell? Are any covers that show an attempt
at balance?
I would say that O'Brien does not have a clear political bias, at least not one that is evident in these
covers. He covers issues that lie on both the right and left sides of politics. I think that each of the covers
when looked at individually has a political bias, but when looking at O'Briens portfolio as a whole, it is
hard to tell his political standing.
2. What color palette does O'Brien lean toward? How can you tell?
He leans towards a more muted color palette with a few brighter accent colors (as discussed above). He
uses natural colors that mimic the real thing very accurately. He uses a style that is very realistic, so the
color palette must match that. However, he draws them each as if they are on a cloudy day.
3. What is O'Brien's audience? What does that possibly say about Time's audience?
His audience is someone who cares about politics. This is evident by all of his very political covers. He
makes a lot of bold commentary on politics and the state of the world. This shows that the overall
audience of TIME is one that cares about politics.
4. O'Brien has done more covers for Time than any other cover artist. What are some possible
reasons?
O'Brien is an exceptional artist. His covers are extremely realistic and look almost like pictures. I think
that this level of realism is what makes these covers extra appealing. He is also extremely clever in the
way that he incorporates symbolism in his artwork. It seems as if the page is packed full of meaning,
almost impossible to pick up at first glance. His covers are both eye-catching and convey powerful
messages.
5. How do the covers you chose for this assignment convey a message concerning a global issue?
How do other covers by O'Brien support or disrupt that message?
A lot of his covers commentate on the people in power and how they are using that power. This
corresponds to the global issues relating to power, politics, and justice.