For this project, I wanted to design a Gig Poster for a nonexistent band. The reason for the non-existence of the band is that I wanted to stretch myself creatively by not relying on a genre or band name when creating the poster. Without an established "theme," I allowed myself total creative freedom. To develop my ideas, I created a mind map and selected a genre to move forward. I wanted my design to communicate a sort of hipster vibe for an Indie-Folk style band. The purpose of a Gig Poster is to grab attention and inform people about a concert, so I wanted my design to do that as well. 

I went through a few different ideas before I got to the turtle/flannel concept, but I felt like this communicated the folky/chill vibe that I was going for. I had to work through the design of the turtle, eventually landing on the exaggerated shell to accommodate the banjo on its back. I considered some different designs for the trees, but I didn't want them to take any attention away from the subject.  

I got a lot of good feedback on my draft from peers and mentors, so I was excited to implement the changes suggested. The main focus was the shape of the turtle's head and neck. The neck attached in an awkward way to the shell and was shaped poorly, and took attention away from the message of the poster. It was also suggested that the angle of the banjo was too similar to the shape of the shell and the angle of the trees, so I turned the banjo more to the side and extended the neck to break the shape of the shell. I added some weight to the bottom of the feet so they weren't so stick-like, and also made the font for the gig information thicker. I changed the name of the band, and added an offset border to the text to add some texture and interest. I added some of the stripes from the flannel texture in the background to the grass area at the bottom to tie in the two areas and add some more texture to the bottom of the image. My favorite suggestion was to change the bottom of the shell to make it more natural and less hat-like. 

My poster meets my objectives because it stretched me creatively and is a unique concept and style. The flannel background communicated my folk/indie vibe, and the turtle attracts attention and creates interest. The colors are complimentary, which also attracts interest and entices people to come to the concert.