The Tour de France, a highly competitive and professional cycling competition, has been [and still is] a dream of mine since a very young age. This poster advertisement caught my attention one day because of its overarching meaning. Generally, I prefer simplicity in graphic designs and this piece provides a perfect example of my preference. If you do not know much about the Tour de France, allow me to explain this design.
Clearly depicted, there is a chain link with four different circles inside each ring. The green represents a “Green Jersey” given to the rider who has the most steady high-place finishes for checkpoints in the tour to wear during each stage. The red and white represents the “Polkadot Jersey” given to the rider who has the most steady high-place finishes for checkpoints on Mountain-tops. The Yellow dot represents a “Yellow Jersey” given to the rider that has the lowest time out of everyone in the tour in terms of stage finishes. This is the highest honor because this person is most likely to win the Tour de France. Finally, since there is often a large amount of young riders in the tour, the white dot represents the “White Jersey” given to the leading young rider under the age of 25.
To make more sense of this, these links are what keep the bikes going in these races. All of these Jerseys are linked to the most prestigious and skilled riders of the tour. Links can break but they can also remain strong, ultimately becoming responsible for the fate or renown of riders. Stronger links bring riders closer to earning their colored jerseys.