This is a Terrible Poster

I saw the poster for the Facebook movie, The Social Network, at the Bergen Street station yesterday. And all I could think was, This is a terrible poster. Now I can’t find the subway version online (camera phone FAIL), but mentally replace the text above with the three words Punk, Billionaire, Genius. And take away the cute Facebook sidebar.

Crypto-Kruger typography, with lightweight Futura in a justified block.

“Punk”? Who called Mark Zuckerberg a punk?

Who’s afraid of sweet Jesse Eisenberg?

I understand I am supposed to be wowed by the contrast between his downy face and the words Punk Billionaire Genius but what non-modelesque young man gets a billboard of his face nowadays who isn’t an upstart genius online billionaire? And maybe it’s my glasses, but I found it impossible to focus on the face and the type at the same time. I could only see either a very boring typographic treatment (a red block would have helped graphically) or a very dark portrait of a young man.

I see they were going for subtle, with the name of the film only in the Facebook font (Klavika) down in the corner. The online version, seen above, is set up like an iPad screen. But I think they should have gone for the full Facebook treatment, fake Zuckerberg doing wrong amidst a fake cast of thousands.

My guess is David Fincher was so afraid of his movie looking like another teen movie (hoodie alert) he went too graphic. But this is no Seven. I realize I’m not the target demographic. The poster and the trailer are getting lots of design love here and here (where you can make your own version). But I think it’s “klassy”: good taste, no sale.

Observed

Jobs

Share on Social

By Alexandra Lange

Alexandra Lange is an architecture critic and author, and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner for Criticism, awarded for her work as a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab. She is currently the architecture critic for Curbed and has written extensively for Design Observer, Architect, New York Magazine, and The New York Times. Lange holds a PhD in 20th-century architecture history from New York University. Her writing often explores the intersection of architecture, urban planning, and design, with a focus on how the built environment shapes everyday life. She is also a recipient of the Steven Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary from AIGA, an honor she shares with Design Observer’s Editor-in-Chief, Ellen McGirt.