Loud & Proud

In Introduction to Typography, we were asked to design a poster about an aspect of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An open design prompt with a twist, we were not allowed to use any design elements other than type.

I chose Summerfest because, similar to the event, I have a loud and bold personality. The event represents one of many reasons that I love living in the city. I wrote out three things that came to mind when I heard “Summerfest”: fried food, band t-shirts, and loud music. I started typing my title, tagline, and description for each idea.

Though I came up with many fun possibilities, such as “Summerfest Fine Dining: Cholesterol as High as Your Spirits,” loud music became the obvious choice. I wanted to use a bold typeface to emphasize the volume of the event. People walk away remembering the loud and positive atmosphere. I strived to represent this feeling. Acumin captured my idea well with its variety of fonts. I used yellow to represent the sun setting on the late night concerts. I used blue to reference Lake Michigan, because the concerts face the water in order to avoid creating more city noise. For my description, I wrote out what it is like to experience the event for the first time.

This piece sparked positive feedback from my peers. They enjoy the type’s placement as well as the repeating words. My classmates claim this is their favorite design of mine. I also discovered a new found joy in typography as a storytelling technique. The prompt for this project later inspired designs, such as TYPO and Drunk Fish.