Whiplash & Clash ‘89

Tools: Adobe Photoshop & analog techniques

Project Brief
Design a music festival poster by combining analog and digital techniques. Explore design materiality to transform typography into a sensory experience. Letterform should be the primary element of your poster.

Brand Goal
It’s 1989; heavy metal and hard rock are at their peak in the late 80s. There’s no better way to close out the decade than with Whiplash & Clash ‘89, the ultimate rock festival held in Kansas City for two nights. Whiplash captures the intensity of headbanging, while Clash captures the thrill of mosh pits. The headliners will be Metallica, Mötley Crüe, and Van Halen. The opening artists will be KISS, Bon Jovi, Billy Idol, and Ratt.

Research
My research included looking at festivals from the 80s, such as “Monsters of Rock” and “Woodstock.” I did a lot of secondhand research on many different concert flyers from the 80s and saw how things were laid out. I created a playlist with songs from each of the bands featured to get a sense of how this hypothetical concert would be. I did a lot of research on how these bands were around this time so that I could properly represent their nature in this series of posters.

Process
I wanted to emphasize the raw nature of the rock scene in the late 80s by having something pop out at you. I first started by printing out an image of a crowd at a real rock concert, punching a hole in it with my fist while wearing a spike bracelet, and taking a picture of it. I chose a stencil font to make it seem more rebellious and bold. Once I had my base design done, I started experimenting with analog techniques. I tried 18 different variations for this series and tried to make each different from the next.

Reflection
Through this project, I learned the process of creating my own unique textures without relying on digital overlays. I had a lot of fun with this project. I was able to easily design the base poster, which gave me a lot of time to experiment with different techniques.