Jazz Concert Poster: Imagery from paper collages

2023

20 x 40

This project began by creating compositions with hand-dyed paper that is cut and arranged to demonstrate different design techniques. Some that I focused on where figure ground, sandwiching colors, curves, and directional lines. The inspiration for the collages was jazz and play. The rhythm and movement and the act of going with the flow mirrors the experience of making or listening to jazz music. This makes this technique perfect for a jazz concert poster. Then the collages were scanned and brought into Adobe Photoshop where they could be recolored, layered, edited, and fine-tuned into a final graphic for the jazz concert poster.

Like the collaged graphic, the other elements on the poster have a hand-done touch to them as well. I printed out the text with a laser printer and used a blending marker to transfer the text onto another piece of paper. This gives the text a natural texture and weathered look that compliments the detail within the graphic. The piano drawings are hand drawn and scanned in as well. All together, every part of this poster is inspired by an analog technique and enhanced by design technology.

The cropped image of the poster enphasizes the parts of the graphic that were made with the collage technique. In the gallery underneath this text are the finished paper compositions before they were changed or edited.