rob: January 2008 Archives
Recently, I had the opportunity to do a postcard-style flyer for Pine Box Theatre, a local theater group here in Chicago. They were producing a world premiere play based on a script from a Chicago native. The story, which takes place in Chicago and Sierra Leone during civil unrest, seemed like a great opportunity to do some fun work.
Historically, the group would produce a 5.5" x 11" postcard to promote a new production. The creative would consist of one photo of the principle actors in a neutral setting, a room with a prop or two. The typography would be distressed and have an edgy, independent feel. Overall, they had a consistent look but did not differentiate themselves from other theater companies.
One of the my main goals on this project was to come up with an updated look and feel, still using photography and print format, but in a way that helped define Pine Box from the others. But in order to look forward I looked to the past, mainly movie posters from the 50s, 60s and 70s. I have always liked the way the old posters would show the main characters in sort of this collage along with hints of the action of the movie. I wanted to have that classic look but also build on the mood from the script. So working with a photographer friend, Bonnie, I sketched a couple layouts featuring a couple main characters and scenery (burning Africa sun), adding color to help with mood and lighting.
Based on the layout sketches, Bonnie set up a photo shoot with the actors and did a wonderful job directing them to get the shots we were looking for.
Once the shoot was complete I placed the photos into layout and was surprised on how close they came to the original sketches. I even tried to move away from the initial idea but in the end found the original layout to be the best option.
Here is the final creative:
Historically, the group would produce a 5.5" x 11" postcard to promote a new production. The creative would consist of one photo of the principle actors in a neutral setting, a room with a prop or two. The typography would be distressed and have an edgy, independent feel. Overall, they had a consistent look but did not differentiate themselves from other theater companies.
One of the my main goals on this project was to come up with an updated look and feel, still using photography and print format, but in a way that helped define Pine Box from the others. But in order to look forward I looked to the past, mainly movie posters from the 50s, 60s and 70s. I have always liked the way the old posters would show the main characters in sort of this collage along with hints of the action of the movie. I wanted to have that classic look but also build on the mood from the script. So working with a photographer friend, Bonnie, I sketched a couple layouts featuring a couple main characters and scenery (burning Africa sun), adding color to help with mood and lighting.
Based on the layout sketches, Bonnie set up a photo shoot with the actors and did a wonderful job directing them to get the shots we were looking for.
Once the shoot was complete I placed the photos into layout and was surprised on how close they came to the original sketches. I even tried to move away from the initial idea but in the end found the original layout to be the best option.
Here is the final creative:
For the last 12 years or so I have been doodling heads on every notebook, creative brief, Post-it note or any other scrap of paper that comes my way. Recently, I started thinking, "What if I scanned all these sketches and made a poster out of them?" Sounds easy enough, right? I should have a thousand heads by now. The trick is tracking them all down, and unfortunately, not all of them have survived. In fact, most of them have fallen victim to regular spring cleaning. I have about 240 scanned in at the moment and although that doesn't seem like a lot, for a bunch of doodles it is plenty. Due to the large number, I have expanded the idea to two 24"x36" posters, with 140 images each. You can view the individual sketches here and check back later to see the final posters.
