Spring Open Mic Posters
Spring 2024
3 weeks
illustration •
design
This was freelance work for the Writing Center at Cornish College of the Arts. Inspired by the Art Nouveau event posters of Alphonse Mucha, these posters were a set designed to advertise the Writing Center’s spring poetry open mic event. They are meant to work as a duo, demonstrating the changing of seasons and the emotional highs and lows of spring.
Hand-lettering, copy writing, and April poster illustration by me. May poster illustration by Jillian Bird.
Process
The entirety of the guidance from my client for this poster was “spring” and “Art Nouveau inspired.” The first thing I did was research of Art Nouveau event posters, menus, and typefaces. Then, I made a list: all of the spring-related elements I might want to include.
The title and subtitles of both posters were lettered by hand. I took inspiration from classic Art Nouveau typography, incorporating the high x-height and flowing curves into my lettering. For the illustration, I referenced a lot of Alphonse Mucha’s work, especially the way he illustrated flowing fabric. My biggest challenge was interpreting box braids into his style, as he only ever drew white women.
The illustration and hand-lettering was completed digitally in Procreate, with the rest of the typesetting done in Adobe Illustrator.