I've been busy playing with designs for social media and poster graphics. I'd love to know what you think.. Please commment below.
Doing the artwork for Shaft Of Wit is never an exact science. As a general rule, Graphics should be simple, but I always get carried away wanting to say as much as possible about the gigs.
Gaining trust from passing strangers is hard. Why should anyone part with their hard earned cash for an event they know nothing about? Ive been making graphics for years and looking back, there are lots of similarities and phrases I use all the time. Things like "The Very Best Headliners From The UK Comedy Club Circuit" feature heavily, as does "GREAT COMEDY, LIVE & LOCAL"
I'm not entirely sure what people look for or how much is too much? and so on. This week I tried a few different approaches with regards to font and layout, but there is still alot of excess info I'm sure I dont need. Every gig is different, therefore the need to generate new graphics for each gig is important. Apart from a few headliners that Ive had that the public will know, the marjority of acts, despite them being among the very best in the UK, are largely unknown by the audiences I am trying to reach, but out of respect, I tend to sell them all like everyone should know who they are....and they should! But they dont.
This one is a general poster graphic for Chedgrave. Probably the simplest one Ive done for a long time. WIth some tweaks it will make a neat flyer for printing and circulating.
These graphics have the large heading stating where the comedy is. I think that works. I went for a more fun, cartoon font. Very different from the cleaner, more formal designs Ive used for the last couple of years. Like the one below.
Using a range of colours seemed like a useful way to keep the art fresh when spreading across social media.
BEAR LAUGHS - I played with the idea of Bear Laughs for The Bear & Bells. Incorporating a cartoon bear to fit with the cartoon font, the 'Bear Laughs is a play on the 'Bare Laughs' slang term meaning 'alot/ abundance of laughs' It's not a permanent change, but might appeal to a younger audience when used on instagram and facebook.
The effectivemeness of having a variety of graphics is yet to be seen. I dont want it to seem like a completely new brand, but on reflection, this could be how it comes across. I hope it doesn't cause too much confusion.
Time will tell. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Comment below.....
