Strawberry Festival

Promotional Poster Set
︎  Featured in the 2024 CCS Student Exhibition

Focus

Print / Brand / Motion

Means

Figjam, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects

Make
   Three 24x36 Archival Inkjet Prints, Enhanced Matte 

Timeline

3 weeks

Summary

Strawberry Festival is a set of posters dedicated to promoting and celebrating Chassel Michigan’s yearly strawberry festival.

context

    The Copper Country Strawberry Festival is a yearly festival dedicated to celebrating strawberry crops and growers in Chassell, Michigan. Chassell, a town situated near Michigan’s formerly booming copper mining industry, has hosted the festival for 76 years of its 161 year history. As such, the town has a rich history from its various industrious influences. 


   

    The festival is so much more than just a celebration of strawberries. An idea of “beyond the berry” was crucial in designing a set of posters that encapsulate all events that comprise the festival. The three posters represent three core intrigues of the festival: what to do, what to see, and what to eat.

research

Research was conducted to further understand the history behind the festival and compiled together using a digital pin board. Photos inspired by the event were collaged to construct 25 quick mini-posters and sketches to inspire our digital posters. I narrowed it down to 3 directions, each honoring something different: the history, the berry itself, and the variety within the event. I decided that focusing solely on one of these themes would be a disservice, so I drew inspiration from each to create a final concept.

visualization

 

The final posters aim to reflect all that the event is: hand-made, historic, and all-encompassing. Hand-drawn pen illustrations become symbolic of events that occur and change between posters. Strawberry imagery serves as through-line between each cluster of objects. The monospaced font nods to the past while also looking towards the future of the festival. The color choices are emblematic strawberries while providing a fresh and youthful feeling. The result is a set that isn’t only cohesive, but that accurately expresses the festival’s purpose.

lessons learned