PS 84

Branding a PTA gala

I always just at the chance to volunteer to design the poster and event materials for my son's school events. This time the gala which the PTA holds to raise extra money for the next school year needed designing. Projects like this are always a good low-pressure opportunity to try something new.

The event was titled La Noche Tropical. I did a fair amount of research, coming across lots of travel and Caribbean nightlife posters. I'd also been meaning to try out taking hand-drawn sketches and building vector illustrations, so this seemed like a good opportunity.

The first idea I came up with was this woman with an elaborate tropical hat that contained the type and dancers in the background. It felt a little too quiet and introspective for a party poster.

Keep going

I kept going and started sketching and creating dancing figures. The event is a dance party after all. After watching lots of YouTube videos of people dancing salsa and merengue I was able to capture some of the more lively moments and poses. There was no need for the figures to seem too much like professional dancers.

A transparent logo

I wanted to keep the idea of the type set off against foliage as a way of adding excitement. And there absolutely had to be a parrot, obviously. So, I stylized the color palette and flattened the foliage. Slanting the type added more nightclub feeling.

The result was a brand that feels exciting and festive, but also wholesome and youthful. 

Skills

Illustration
Art Direction
Campaign design

Deliverables

Printed matter
Banners
Social