April 19, 2024

It’s end-of-year recital season, and the halls of MSM are full of creative fliers and advertisements for graduation recitals – all made by the students themselves. We connected with a few of them to learn more about their designs, how they feel the designs represents them as artists, and the importance of visual marketing for artists.

Kellin, what is your experience so far with advertising yourself? How did that help you create this graphic?

Kellin: I’ve been lucky enough to have performed with my band in various venues, which has allowed me to practice advertisement and graphic design. I wanted to advertise my recital as if it were a real show at a venue – how would a jazz club or comedy club advertise a show?

We as humans find certain things appealing to the eye. Having similar/matching color schemes with your subjects, the placement of those subjects, and the text as well. Making sure you’re giving the info needed, but not too much info where the graphic becomes crowded. Finally, giving the graphic a “pop factor”, something to catch the viewer’s eye, is helpful. In this case, that’s Manny the Polar Bear popping up behind me. The goal is to make people stop in the hallway, stop scrolling, and take interest in your show!

Sally, what was your thought process behind making your recital graphic?

Sally: I love posting and taking pictures, and also finding a way for readers to easily and quickly save the date without too many words. I knew I wanted to use one of my photos for this recital, and I want to make it as professional as possible. Since it’s my first solo recital, I am having in the school (that also marks my graduation), I want it to be a big deal.

Marty, what was the inspiration behind your recital graphic?

Marty: I love to make a lot of posters to market any performances I have, whether on- or off-campus. I have now been doing graphic design for the past four years, and I learned how to do it on my own with the inspiration of classic jazz albums from the Blue Note record label, specifically during the era of the ’50s and ’60s. This poster that I made in particular is inspired by an album by saxophonist Ornettte Coleman called Something Else. I had seen this album at a record store weeks before my recital, and I thought it was a very eye-catching cover that I really wanted to recreate. Since this was for my recital, I thought it would be fitting to have the cover say “Recite This!!!!” to give it the same effect as the original cover had on me.

Kayla and Oliver, what was the thought process behind making your recital graphic?

Kayla: Oliver and I wanted to make a poster that represented our relationship, as well as the music we were making. We thought that the picture of us walking at the beach and the light-color fonts gave it an airy feel, and came across as very classy but also different, perfect for a classy but different recital! It was so special working on this project and using classical singing and violin together in ways that are not typically done in our normal curriculum.