ZOO POSTER SERIES

The 25th anniversary of music in the zoo was hosting a poster contest for residents of Minneapolis. I wanted to create something that held the essence of the artists that visit every year as well as the unique venue. I created a single poster, and two poster series that could each be used on their own or as a campaign.

With this single poster, I wanted to take that feeling and express it on paper. I chose to create letters out of organic shapes found in music and nature. I want it to be a piece that draws the viewer in to find the quirky shapes and decide if it is an animal or a musical instrument. I created layers of color on each letter to represent the loud noises found in the amphitheater. I found the colors to embody loud musical instruments, natural animal fur tones and spring greens that surround us at this time of the year. I also wanted this to be kid friendly.

I have found over the years that my design style can be described as clean, modern and simple. I started with this idea in my quest to start designing a poster to commemorate 25 years. I wanted to create something that showed the combination of animals and music in a fun, simple way. I combined vector drawings of animals and musical instruments within the shapes of an "M, Z and Minnesota". We take pride in our state (and it's funky shape), so I decided to play that up! The colors are a combination of fun and vibrant, as well as down to earth and natural.

Lately I have been trying to break out of my design comfort zone (if that's a real thing) and try my hand at hand lettering. All three of these posters are hand drawn within Illustrator. I wanted them to captivate viewers and make them take a closer look. The movement of the different letters create and interesting eye pattern unique to each poster. They are each designed within a part of a musical instrument, floating on top of a background filled with animals and other musical instruments. I wanted these posters to be energetic and bright, to embody the atmosphere that is created at each concert.

Although I did not win the contest, I loved taking on a challenge right in my own community. I was able to try my hand at different design skills to create different effects within these poster series. I hope you enjoy.