As days get shorter and temperatures cool, it’s also time (eek) to start thinking about going back to school. To help you get a jump on the best school (and school-related) supplies to buy for fall, we’re running a series called Cool School Stuff, in which we’ll sniff out the best backpacks, best dorm décor, and best bento boxes, among many, many other things.
The struggle of the dorm-room poster: You need something to represent everything that you are to all your new college friends, but you can’t have the same picture every other room down the hall has. It’s about marking where you fit in, while still standing out. So instead of leaving you to desperately sift through your school-hosted poster sale for something original (spoiler alert: You won’t find anything original there), we’ve collected alternatives for the posters you’re likely to see everywhere else (you can also check out more of our favorite posters on Amazon, here).
Instead of: Bob Marley smoking a joint.
Go with: a pack of cigarettes that are actually joints. (Obama smoking works, too.)
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Instead of: Keep Calm and Carry On.
Go with: a colorful, Get Shit Done.
Instead of: Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out.
Go with: a vintage Apple poster, because you’re fun and like new technologies and sciences. Or, for something more affordable, keep it simple with a brain.
Instead of: an Andy Warhol soup can.
Go with: Andy Warhol’s far-more-fun after-party.
Instead of: that Pink Floyd poster with all of the painted butts.
Go with: a cartoon butt.
Instead of: Starry Night.
Go with: Maurizio Cattelan’s gold toilet.
Instead of: a band’s vintage day-roll poster.
Go with: a graphic designer’s David Bowie poster.
Instead of: M.C. Escher’s optical illusions.
Go with: a poster that says vibrate and also looks like it’s vibrating.
Instead of: the Beatles.
Go with: the Migos.
Instead of: John Belushi in Animal House.
Go with: Jonah Hill and Michael Cera in Superbad.
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