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Elusive Echoes
Challenged with using non-tradition forms of typography to distort and create a visually interesting, complimentary series of posters while maintaining an underlying grid.
The Objective
This typographic poster series focuses on the challenge of creating a cohesive visual design system that can unify multiple components while still honoring their differences. The assignment was to design a poster series that effectively communicated meaning by combining type and imagery that engaged and persuaded viewers to attend an event.
The Research
I first began by researching each artist to understand what about them is unique but also what connects the three in a way that can be translated into my design
JJJJJerome Ellis
Jjjjjerome Ellis is a composer, writer, and performer whose work explores the intersections of music, literature, and Black studies. Often incorporating his experience of stuttering as both theme and method, he uses voice, saxophone, electronics, and storytelling to question how time, silence, and speech shape identity. His work invites listeners into spacious, transformative encounters with sound and language.
Charmaine Lee
Charmaine Lee is a New York–based vocalist and sound artist known for her radical approach to the voice as an instrument. Working primarily with improvisation, she creates dense, textural soundscapes using extended vocal techniques, electronics, and amplification. Her work pushes the boundaries between noise, language, and pure sound, often inhabiting an intense and visceral sonic space.
Patti Smith
Patti Smith is an American singer, poet, and visual artist often called the "punk poet laureate" for blending raw rock energy with literary depth. Emerging in the 1970s with her landmark album Horses, she helped shape punk’s ethos while drawing on poetry, art, and activism. Her work—spanning music, writing, and photography—explores themes of rebellion, spirituality, and the transformative power of art.
Analogue & Type Study
Building from this research, I explored multiple concept directions through experimenting with analogue typography. These early experiments allowed me to translate the poets’ themes and voices into visual form, testing different ways typography could communicate their work. This stage provided a foundation for refining the most effective visual design approach.
Concept Decision
I explored multiple overall concept directions after experimenting with analogue typography. These early sketches helped narrow down my concepts and decide which to pursue. I was able to generate specific concepts that align with my research and choose which sent the message I was looking for. Here is where I chose to pursue one design. Like how each artist "breaks the rules" I chose to break glass over bold Helvetica of each of the artists names
In order to finalize my design, I wanted to pull my inspiration a lot from the era of Patti Smit. I used inspiration of Punk bands of the time and the loud, bold designs that stood out. I chose this era because they were some of the lead groups to began truly breaking the rules in music and art in a way that inspires today.
This is where I started to devlop the rest of the poster. I used an actual typewriter to replicate this style for the rest of the poster information. I also referenced the bright colors to contrast the bold black type of the artists names. I used analogous colors to keep the artists related by a color familt but separated by the different forms of music they create.
Final
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