The library director Janet contacted me regarding this project. She needed me to turn this yoga poster design around shortly after New Years. Of course, I made time after the holidays for my long time clients.
Yoga poster design story
Janet only provided the text to include on the flyer, and the format sizes I would need to design. I had worked with the library for many years, so she trusted my instincts to create the perfect promotional material. Of course, I instantly had a concept and color scheme in mind.
Initially, I envisioned a group of silhouettes performing yoga poses. Combining these with an ornate mandala pattern hearkened back to yoga’s origins in the country of India. I didn’t want to make the yoga poster design layout too busy. Therefore, I faded the mandala into the background.
I contrasted the dark, dull blue elements against the bright orange burst background. The images stayed simple. The background however included a three dimensional pattern. I fenced all of the elements in with a dotted white frame, which also helped emphasize the sponsor logos and tagline in white. These were located at the bottom and top, respectively.
For the yoga poster design’s main title, I chose a font containing characters similar to Hindi for the word “Yoga”. The capital “Y” moved up to make it more symmetrical. I set the words “IN THE LIBRARY” in another exotic font. I warped them in a waving flag shape. This added just the right amount of motion to the title.
Janet and the rest of the library staff loved the vibrant, inspirational design. It perfectly promoted that patrons could stick to their New Years resolutions, and get fit with a new exercise program.
Contact me for your own yoga poster design
Are you promoting an event centered around yoga, or another exercise? I believe that promoting fitness in your community is very important, and I would love to help! Contact me today!
In previous years, I employed line art from Victorian age ads for MCPL’s annual Mother’s Day Tea. However, I decided to switch things up for the 2019 event. The library wanted to incorporate a theme to coincide with the Kentucky Derby. Therefore, I set out to create an authentically vintage library event poster.
Library event poster design story
I spent several hours studying minstrel show advertisements from years gone by, circuses, and other attractions. Their font treatments and type styles specifically caught my eye. These are crucial elements in capturing the look and feel of these posters. After much internal debate, I settled on a muted yellow, blue, and red color scheme. I then chose my fonts.
Library event poster typography
First of all, I employed a tall sans serif font called Kankin, reminiscent of those used in the vintage posters, for my my titles and large text. I outlined all of the large text in a thin black stroke in order to complete the period style. Next, I used the Wide Latin serif font, along with Trajan Pro, to spell out the rest of the content.
The director also suggested I incorporate some roses in the poster as part of the Derby theme, so I worked them into the main title. I situated one on either side of the words “Spring 2019” at the top to give it a little extra flair.
Horse outline used in library event poster
For a while, I had wanted to incorporate an image inside a silhouette, much like in many classic movie posters. Once the idea came to me, I jumped at the chance. The classic Victorian lady depicted could very well be on her way to a horse racing event of the day. I chose the silhouette of a jockey and horse that was the most obvious, since it was an action shot. The jockey is high up on the horse’s back, ready to cross the finish line, as the horse’s tail swishes in the wind.
Need a library event poster design? Contact me today!
Does your public library have a special event coming up? Then you need to hire a professional graphic designer to help with your advertising! Contact me today.
Word gets around amongst Kentucky librarians! I have done print and web work for Muhlenberg County Public Libraries for years. Because of this, MCPL’s director recommended me to the staff at nearby Cynthiana’s library system. Cynthiana-Harrison County desperately needed a new library web design to replace their dated online presence.
Library web design colors and appearance in Kentucky
Cynthiana’s staff reached out to me with a long list of features to add, as well as content to update. Their existing site was nothing short of a relic. It had not been upgraded in years, and was not compatible with modern users’ phones and tablets. In short, the library web design needed a complete makeover to bring it up to date.
The first order of business was replacing the drab maroon and grey color scheme. I instead used a clean, bright pallet of blues and light greens. These colors lined up nicely with their new “tree and building blocks” themed logo design.
Features incorporated in new library web design
A pleasing, modern appearance is important, but if the site lacks important features, it is worthless. I worked closely with the staff to craft a site true to their slogan “Branching Out Into the Community”. From the top down, Cynthiana’s redesign is feature packed, both for tech savvy users and others who are not. Every important feature sitewide is easy to find from the home page. Whether customers are using tablets, phones, or their desktops, the site is fully responsive.
Patrons can search the library catalog directly from the search box in the header. They may also drill down by choosing from categories in the site’s menu. The menu also outlines all of the many programs, services, and spaces the library offers. As the user scrolls down this library web design, the menu sticks to the top of the browser window and follows them.
A responsive slider sits beneath the menu. It highlights key content throughout the site with relevant images. I stress to my clients the importance of featuring real people engaging in their products and services. It was evident right away that Cynthiana’s library is a crucial community hub. The photos throughout the site reflect this so well.
Below the slider, three columns of widgets expand on what the library offers. The Announcements section lists excerpts of both library and community news. It links to the library’s blog for further information. In the middle, graphics link to online apps and services. The right column features a list of upcoming events. When users mouse over each listing, a graphic and excerpt pops up. They may click to register for each event and access more information.
Kentucky’s public libraries are important to both me and my family. I consider it a privilege to work with library staff to provide their ideal solutions. Does your system need print design or a perhaps a new library web design? Contact me today to get started.
At the end of each year, I create the Christmas event poster design for my hometown library system in Kentucky. This is always one of my favorite seasonal projects to plan and execute. I love being a Christmas poster artist!
Muhlenberg County’s annual holiday events take place at their Thistle Cottage location. Thistle Cottage is a converted historic home which is located in the county seat of Greenville, KY. Many local businesses sponsor the Christmas trees that go on display throughout December at the Jubilee of Trees.
Also, kids of all ages get to take pictures with Santa Claus himself one day during the proceedings. I love coming up with a new, distinct solution for this seasonal project each and every year.
Focal image in Christmas event poster design
Since I had previously made liberal use of stock photos for their campaigns, I did not want to repeat myself. A holiday theme can be limiting if you don’t put much thought into it. Therefore, I wanted to try something both different and distinct from past projects this year. Something special was in order!
I conceptualized a simple, flat illustration which would make use of a minimal number of colors. Not unlike TV’s South Park, the cut out style gave the promotional material a lighthearted feel.
First, I used the Adobe Illustrator application to create the focal image of the poster. I drew up a pint sized elf playing a medieval style trumpet to announce the events. I actually based the illustration on a picture of my three year old son from his birthday photo shoot. He is wearing an outfit which is modeled after Will Ferrell’s character Buddy from the film Elf. The green and gold uniform is complete with a red feather in his cap. A royal red flag draped over the trumpet, heralding the December event dates. I used a mix of antique style fonts that looked like they could easily adorn a Middle Ages castle.
A tiny, smiling fairy is sitting cross legged atop his trumpet. She holds a sparkling wand in her hand, and plotting holiday mischief. I actually based the pixie’s image on a photo I had taken years ago of my wife. I added wings and recolored her dress green like Disney’s Tinkerbell.
Additional elements in the Christmas event poster design
The snowy background scene in the posters consists of rolling hills and pine trees. I desaturated the trees’ colors to dull hues in order to make it obvious that they were far off in the background. The hill in the distance is also slightly darker to achieve that purpose. In addition to the elf and fairy, the foreground elements announce the ongoing Jubilee of Trees. I continued using the simple logo I created for the event years ago.
Also, a “want ad” style poster provides all of the details for the Pictures with Santa event. I chose a simple, one color “hipster” interpretation of Old Saint Nick. The silhouette image comes complete with ironic horn rimmed glasses. The client asked if the Santa Claus image was me, since my wife and son depicted the fairy and elf, respectively. A bright red waving banner with gold trim displays across the top. I set the poster’s main title in an Old English style font called “PlainBlack”.
Many fonts I considered from my font book were perfect, stylistically. Unfortunately, they were also too hard to read. That is a big no-no for a poster design, especially for the main title text. I made sure to select the perfect font, which was both legible and regal. The white space at the bottom displays a list of event sponsors. The Thistle Cottage logo I designed years ago also displays in a pale shade of blue. Last of all, I sprinkled faint snowflakes throughout the scene.
Christmas poster artist – adjusting image formats for different situations
The simplified Facebook ad featured my Thistle Cottage logo on the elf’s flag instead of the dates.
After I finalized the design, the library distributed the final product in a variety of print sizes. First, they needed it in the largest print format, which was an 11×17″ poster. I then resized the elements and rearranged them to fit in a half page handout. Next, I created two different sizes for two local papers’ print newspaper ads. Both of the publications have their own sizes and specs, so I had to follow them closely.
They also promoted the event extensively on their social media channels. I modified the design so that it would properly fit on the public library system’s Facebook Event page. Facebook’s graphics specs limit the amount of text that advertisers can use. The graphics themselves also need to be formatted so that the feature images are positioned in specific locations. This way, every part of the image will display as it should, regardless of which device users view it on. Thus, I had to get creative, so that I could fit it into that mold. This was no problem for me, of course. I always make sure to stay informed on current social media advertising trends.
Contact me for your Christmas event poster design
The staff at Muhlenberg County Public Libraries always tell me that they love my work. Why not try me, a dedicated Christmas poster artist, for your own event ad campaign? You might just become one of my repeat customers as well! Contact me today to get started!
Muhlenberg County Public Libraries
Connect with me!