'TIL YOUR HANDS FALL OFF
SDSU 2014 Open Studios Poster
Open Studios is an exciting yearly event in the graphic design department at State, where friends, family, and faculty come together to see what the designers have been slaving over all year. My goal for this project was to create a poster that would encompass the collected experience of our design students without being cheeseily over-inspirational or cliche.
My original idea was just to illustrate the everyday tools we as designers use, with a few funny nods to not-so-conventional items we're uniquely familiar with here on campus (ie. eating Betty's hot dogs three days in a row because the art department is so far away from any other food options). While vats of Starbucks coffee, nonprescription glasses, and inspirational cat Instagrams are all pertinent parts of being a designer, our most important tools are our hands. Tools that get abused a lot throughout the semester. Being a design student isn't just drawing cool things and Pinning ideas all day. It's bloody hard work. Amidst the constant keyboard carpal tunnel and 12AM x-acto knife wrist cramps, I've found myself swearing these hands are going to fall off if I keep designing. So I forwent the typical optimistic message of past posters for something more darkly humorous and strangely motivational, and added a severed hand to the mix, still clutching a Wacom pen with the title "'Til Your Hands Fall Off" scrawled at the bottom.
I illustrated all elements of the poster by hand in my signature style for a playful vibe that's unique and eye-catching to fellow students. The concept and style is obviously different from most of the posters we see everyday on campus, which would deliberately draw viewers in. For added impact, I used a bright color scheme associated with spring. The pinks and blues also contrast the dark subject matter and downplay the potential goriness of the piece, making it more "creepy cute" rather than off-putting or disturbing. The message is simple: While it may feel like your hands are going to turn into bloody stumps, keep going, keep designing.
Yummy gummy fleshy pink ink ready for pulling.
Base layer before applying the halftone details.
Close-up of the halftone shading.
