Project 4 Poster Series
Marketing Materials for Event/Festival
10/20/20
Illustrator Exercises and Event Information
Hello! In the coming weeks, I will be creating a series of marketing materials to attract an audience to an event or festival. The designs will explore typography, form, and color to communicate the event information. Illustrations will be incorporated into the marketing designs using software. Before beginning to sketch initial poster ideas, I completed two Illustrator exercises to get more familiar with the pathfinder and pentool in order to create my own illustrations for the project. Below I attached screenshots of my exercises. I traced a penguin using pentool and created a robot using pathfinder.
After completing the exercises, I gathered information about the event for my marketing materials.
The Title of the Event: Swan Lake
Name of artist(s): Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Music by Tchaikovsky
Paragraph: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre was founded in 1969 under the leadership of Yugoslavian artistic director Nicolas Petrov and board chair Loti Falk. Initially, the company was affiliated with Point Park College, but in less than 50 years evolved into a one of the largest performing arts organizations in Pittsburgh with dancers from all around the world. The company continues to inspire Pittsburgh by showcasing classical ballet tradition with new dance ideas.
Date, time, and location of the event: March 6th, 2021 at 8:00pm at Benedum Theater
Ticket information: Tickets range from $25–$100 and they can be purchased online or at the box office at Benedum Center
Name of the event: PBT Spring Season
10/22/20
One-on-One Feedback Session to Initial Sketches
During my one-on-one feedback session, I presented my event ideas and the approach I will take to communicate information in my poster series. I received a suggestion to include the specific names of the artists performing in the event in addition to the ballet staging the event. I will keep the musician name and potentially include the choreographer name for the performance. I also learned that my paragraph should be more catchy to draw the public to the show. My paragraph presents the history of the ballet, but doesn't bring out excitement about the show itself and why people should come to watch Swan Lake specifically. After attending the feedback session I made modification to my event information.
The Title of the Event: Swan Lake, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Spring Season
Name of artist(s): Artistic Director: Susan Jaffe, Music Composer: Tchaikovsky, Leads: Amanda Cochrane and Yoshiaki Nakano
Paragraph: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, founded in 1969, evolved into one of the largest performing arts organizations in Pittsburgh in less than 50 years! From the original leadership of Yugoslavian artistic director Nicolas Petrov and board chair Loti Falk, PBT’s dancers from all around the world continue to inspire Pittsburgh. Come join PBT in its production of Swan Lake, where magic mixes with love and tragedy!
Date, time, and location of the event: March 6th, 2021 at 8:00pm, Benedum Theater
Ticket information: Tickets: $25–$100, purchase online or at box office at the Benedum Center
Before sketching some initial thumbnails, I created a mood board where I compiled a few images for inspiration.
The mood board captures some of the images I would like to convey in my poster. I would like to play around with black and white compositions of swans with color accents such as the red seen in the top right image or the grey fog in the bottom right image of the board. I wanted to incorporate silhouettes in my poster such as the one seen in the bottom image of the second column, but potentially of a swan or feather rather than a dancer. Below are two Swan Lake posters I found that were eye catching to me.
I enjoy the texture of the feathers in the first poster and the chaos in the feather composition, which is a good representation of the emotion felt throughout the ballet. I like how there is a reflection of the swan towards the bottom of the composition as if the swan was seeing it reflection in a body of water, or based on the story a lake filled with the white swan’s tears. I would like to create a composition that represents emotions felt in the ballet. Beyond the illustrations, I enjoy the color use in the first poster. I would like to work with blues, black, and white and potentially bright red accents as shown on the top right image of my mood board.
The second poster caught my eye due the symmetry and inverse color scheme displayed in the poster. The positioning of the swans also represents the tension experienced between the white and black swans in the performance. The yellowish tones also provide contrast between the right and left portions of the image. I would like to play around with this kind of symmetry to reflect two opposing sides (evil and good) in the story and the similarity that exists between them that actually misleads the Prince in the story.
After initially looking for some poster inspiration and brainstorming poster ideas, the color palette I would like to work with for my poster series includes black, white, blue, and red. Below I inserted an image of my color exploration and ultimately my potential color palette for my designs.
I also explored different typefaces in Illustrator on “Swan Lake”. Below I attached an image of my exploration. Potentially I will use Skia as my typeface (marked by an orange box in the image below).
Below I generated a few thumbnails of my initial poster ideas.
The top left sketch represents a ballet ribbon intertwined with a swan feather. In the top right sketch, I tried to experiment with a modern, geometric take on swan feathers. In the bottom left sketch, I created a swan that bleeds off the page. The final sketch represents water and feathers falling into the water full of swan tears.
In the top left thumbnail I incorporated a ballet ribbon into the shape of the swan’s neck. In the top right sketch, I represented the black and white swan, trying to show that they are very similar yet on opposite sides (evil vs. good) in the story. The background of the sketch is a series of water ring with a ballet ribbon transversing the center of the rings. I have not yet decided on the location of the text in the thumbnail. The bottom left sketch is the white swan and its tear that falls into the lake. The bottom right sketch combines the swan feathers with the tear drop.
10/27/20
One-on-One Feedback and Initial Digital Poster Designs
During class, I received feedback on my short paragraph as well as my initial poster sketches. My short paragraph was still too history heavy and needed more information about the storyline of the ballet. I revised my paragraph to the following by placing the last sentence at the front and adding in content about the story itself.
Short Paragraph: Come join PBT in its production of Swan Lake where magic mixes with love and tragedy! Swim with Odette in her lake of tears as she fights agains evil sorcery. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, founded in 1969, evolved into one of the largest performing arts organizations in Pittsburgh in less than 50 years. From the original leadership of Yugoslavian artistic director Nicolas Petrov and board chair Loti Falk, PBT’s dancers from all around the world continue to inspire Pittsburgh.
I also received feedback on the typeface I should be using in my poster design. Below is a screenshot from my feedback session. The circled typefaces were the ones I was recommended to move forward with or explore. The crossed out ones are typefaces that I should avoid because they are used for other purposes in design. I decided to move forward with exploring the Skia typeface for my initial digital designs because it provides a more modern feel than the typefaces circled on the right.
In terms of my color palette, it was suggested for me to move forward with the colors I chose originally. It was also suggested for me to look at some vintage posters because the color palette I chose aligned closely with a vintage feel. Below are some of the posters I looked at for inspiration.
For my initial poster sketches, I received feedback to move forward with the water ring design because it was different from what typically is seen on a Swan Lake poster. It was also suggested for me to use symmetry like in one of my poster design sketches were I created two opposing swan necks. I decided to explore these two design ideas further in my initial digital poster designs. I created three digital posters in illustrator.
10/29/20
One-on-One Feedback and Updated Digital Posters
In class, I had another one-on-one feedback session where I presented my first digital poster designs. In the session, I decided to focus on the first two posters because I thought the third one was not as well organized and not as unique. For the first poster, I received feedback on the hierarchy as well as the design. Although, my first poster had a more interesting design as compared to my second poster, the rings of water need to be more defined. The hierarchy was also lacking in the first poster because the reader gets lost when reading the large content based paragraph. The reader is first drawn to the title of the event, but then they get overwhelmed by the large chunk of text below. For the design, I received feedback on modifying the feathers into more varied sizes and fills. I received a suggestion to change the color of the feathers to white to make the feathers more realistic and match the swan feathers in the ballet. In terms of the text, I received a suggestion to place the date and time below the ticket information because it is important information for the event and then the ticket information following.
For the second poster, I received more positive feedback on the organization of the text and the hierarchy; however, the poster could be further improved by adding greater variation in text size to emphasize the most important parts. For example, I received a suggestion to increase the size of the location and time of the event relative to the ticket information. The ticket information could also be moved to the bottom and expanded to include more specific information on price ranges for people of different ages or for different seating selections. In terms of the design, it is fairly typical to see swans on a Swan Lake poster; therefore, its was suggested to potentially look into including components of the water ring design in the second poster or apply the hierarchy from the second poster into the first poster design. Lastly, certain sentences in the heavier paragraphs for both designs could be emphasized through size or weight differences.
Before I began to update my first and second poster designs, I looked into different musical and ballet posters to see how ticket information was displayed in the designs. Below are two examples I found for inspiration.
For my updated posters, I worked on the hierarchy of my first design by rearranging the most important information below the title of the event and emphasizing the most important information through using different weights and colors. I decided to split up the heavy content paragraph into two with the more interesting content towards the top of the poster to grab the reader’s attention and draw an audience to the show. I also worked on defining the water rings in my design through increasing the weight. I created both filled and unfilled feathers that match the colors of the swans in the story. Below is an screenshot of my updated poster.
For my second poster, I decided to keep the same swan design because adding in the water rings would produce too much clutter on the poster, making it hard to read the information. I split up the content heavy paragraph into two just as in my first poster design. I worked on resizing the most important information such as the date and location of the event. I also rearranged the artist information towards the middle of the poster rather than keeping it at the very top in small text. I tried to keep the hierarchy similar to my initial design, but I did run into trouble finding the best place to put the ticket information. Below is a screenshot of my updated poster design.
11/03/20
One-on-One Feedback Session and Updated Designs
In my one-on-one feedback session, I received feedback mostly on the organization of my text and hierarchy. I received a suggestion to move the title of the event closer to the top of the poster and the top paragraph below the title along with the artist information. In general, my poster is a little wordy, so I received a suggestion to eliminate the bottom right paragraph and add in a sentence to the paragraph at the top of my poster with information about the origins/history of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. It was also suggested for me to move the location information to the bottom in place of the paragraph. I received positive feedback about the offset positioning of the swans, but the swan design could be further improved by extending the neck of the white swan to add to the continuity of the composition. Throughout my poster, I must makes sure to keep my indentations consistent to maintain unity and balance. Below is a screenshot from my feedback session highlighting the points I discussed about potential changes to the design.
I decided to continue working on the second poster design because it more effectively serves as an event poster that grabs a reader’s attention. I also began designing a facebook banner. Below is my updated design based on the feedback I received during the feedback session and an initial iteration for my facebook banner.
11/06/20
Group Critique and Updated/New Designs
During the group critique, I received feedback on my my color and text choices as well as my illustrations. I received positive comments about the use of two offset swans for my design and the repetition of that swan in my ad. Some classmates enjoyed the red color in my poster, while others suggested to use more subtle colors such as pinks and light blues. Overall, people found it hard to read some of my text and wished it was more elegant to more closely match the event. I also received feedback to cut down my short paragraph and more intentionally using color throughout my design. I received positive feedback on my hierarchy and illustrations. I received some suggestions about reducing the text on my poster and rearranging the location and time information towards the top of my poster. For my facebook ad, I received feedback on reducing the variation in text organization and styles and reducing my background to one color. Taking the feedback into consideration, I updated my poster design and facebook ad. I also created an Instagram ad. Below are screenshots of my designs!
11/10/20
One-on-One Feedback Session/Miro Board and Updated Designs
In my on-on-one feedback session and Miro board submission, I received feedback on both my individual compositions as well as how they work together to make a series of marketing materials. For my poster, I received a suggestion to shift the black swan to the right to make room for the ticket information and align the end of each line of text for the ticket information with the curve of the swan’s neck. It was suggested to change the typeface for the content information to a sans serif because there was too much variation in text across my poster. I received feedback to work with the hierarchy of the top portion of text by differentiating important information with larger text or weight. It was suggested to change the event title text color to white. In my updated design, I also decreased the amount of variation in text weight across my poster to provide greater unity to my compositions and not distract the reader from the important information.
For my remaining materials, I received feedback on using the same background color across all of the ads. I decided to keep my background color red. I tried using black but the contrast between the black background and white swan was a little too sharp/extreme. I also received a suggestion to move the text about the ballet and where to purchase the tickets to the instagram or facebook post. For my instagram add, I received a suggestion to left align my text and be consistent with text color for each grouping of information. I need to be more careful with my text alignment as well. For my facebook ad, my feedback included using the same text size and style for the artist and ticket information. Considering the feedback I received from both the one on one feedback session and the Miro board submission, I updated my poster series and incorporated them into the templates provided. Below are screenshots of my updated designs.
11/12/20
Group Feedback, One-on-One Meeting, and Final Designs
During class, we had a group feedback session where I learned about the adjustments I needed to focus on in my three marketing materials in order to create a composition with repeating elements across each design. The session made me look back at my hierarchy and organization of text on my posters and ads. I also uploaded my poster series to the Miro board and had a one-on-one feedback session over the weekend regarding the comments I received on the board. I worked on my color and typeface choices in my designs during the meeting. The hierarchy was adjusted and improved by making text weight and typeface alterations. I decreased the amount of Skia across my posters and ads and included more Avenir. The poster and ads became less busy as a result of the changes. I also worked on adding another hue, navy blue, to my poster. After the session, I worked on alignment and spacing between text. I also made alterations to the templates to better represent the event information. Below are screenshots of my updated final design based on the feedback I received and the changes made during my one-on-one meeting.
11/16/20
Final Critique
During my the final critique, I enjoyed hearing from my classmates about their final thoughts on my poster series. They enjoyed the natural feel in my illustrations due to the rough lines I used to outline the swans. Some liked the change I made with my background color choice, while others felt differently. One classmate liked the gentleness of the blue and how it could potentially represent the lake filled with swan tears. Another classmate preferred the red due to the sharp contrast between the black and white and the red colors, making the poster eye-catching. I also received a positive comment about the use of only one swan in my instagram and poster ads because it made it easy to read the text without too much on the page.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my poster series design process! Through working on this project, I learned how to represent content effectively using typography, form, and color. I applied what I learned from the previous projects and the new information I learned about color use to create a set of marketing materials that communicate event information clearly, while still working together as a composition. I learned to balance expression through typeface choices in my series to draw an audience to the content rather than distract them away from the most important information about the event. I was able to gain skills in creating a balanced and unified set of compositions that purposefully represented the event information in an understandable fashion. Thank you for reading!
