Library Event, Black History: Outside the Book

Left: poster/sign design. Top right: handbill design. Bottom right: ad.

Continuing with the Black History Month events at the libraries, the Headquarters Library planned an event that included storytelling, singing, dancing and other activities. I was tempted to try to show each of these activities by using photos from last year's event, but the photos were not very appealing, plus they would require model releases to be used. 


Too much work for poor quality images, I thought, so I investigated using silhouettes of people's figures performing these activities instead, and import the quilt image into them, same as I had done with the Star Center Children's Theater design as shown on my earlier blog post. Searching out silhouettes took a while--and I found some--but I can't say I was particularly thrilled with them, nor the aspect of how to put them all together into a satisfying design.


That's when I was reminded that when you're trying to tell too much all at once, it is often a better solution to not get caught up in the multiplicity of the story, and focus on a more simple, comprehensive visual idea. The quilt motif already had the concept of multiplicity woven into it, simply by virtue of the variety of people on display. There were activists, politicians, inventors, educators, athletes, and humanitarians all. The quilt was already communicating diversity even if it wasn't specifically displaying the activities of storytelling, singing, and dancing. 


I presented my view to the librarian requesting the publicity for the event and he agreed. "We should have just used the quilt in the first place," he reassured me. I sure was thankful for that! So with the green light on leveraging the existing quilt motif for his event, I moved forward to create the following items:


One large format display poster
Two 11x17in signs
60 quarter page handbills
One black/white newspaper print ad