Designing Around a Theme
by Christine G. Adamo
When it comes to designing for clients, it helps to have a theme in mind.
What do I mean by a theme? A unifying thread that connects diverse marketing materials and conveys, in an instant, that those varying pieces are part of a larger whole. That’s what designing for Black Friars Theatre (Rochester, NY) was like. While they did not choose my design, I appreciate the designs they DID choose.
I also learned a lot in the process. In particular, what theatre design requires.
Black Friar’s poster mockups, intended to promote two separate plays from the same season. (Posters created by WRE’s Christine G. Adamo using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop)
The posters I presented were well-received. And I was certainly proud of them. In the end, I was true to my own aesthetic and unified the designs by incorporating: similar color schemes, identically-sized logos, the same decorative and san serif fonts and a photomontage feel that incorporated interesting details.
I also learned that Photoshop is tons of fun to monkey with, but I digress!
What I failed to do, or found challenging (as I’m not much of a playgoer and didn’t factor in sufficient time for related reserach), was consider how they might later translate into playbills, ticket stubs and other theatre-specific marketing materials. Take a look at any playbill and you’ll see that illustrations dominate.
Why? The essense of a play’s message must be iconic. Illustrations do that well.
Live and learn!
Christine
Christine G. Adamo | Owner, Lead Writer & Designer | http://www.WriteReviseEdit.com
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