"Graphic Design: 'Art Event' Poster for the Highland Arts Programs"

THE PROJECT: We have been working on a ton of graphic design "problems" this semester and we have been asked to help the Highland Art Departments to create a poster for their upcoming Arts Showcase, called the "Highland Art Extravaganza." We are on rather tight deadline for this project, as the posters will need to be selected for printing by the 27th of March at the end of the day. Submissions must be made by 4:00 p.m. on the 28th of March.

THE EVENT: The Art Extravaganza will be a school wide celebration of the arts at Highland High School, being held in late April. The event will feature art galleries, drama presentations, musical and vocal performances, etc. The poster will be used for hanging in the school and the community for marketing purposes, as well as for the cover of the event program.

Here are the SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS regarding the creation of the Art Extravaganza Poster:

  • The Poster MUST include the following elements:

    • Title: The generic title for this art event is "ART EXTRAVAGANZA." HOWEVER- The Art Departments are encouraging poster designers to come up with a more creative name, if possible. The name should include the idea that this is:
      1. An event, a large exciting gathering.
      2. Artistic: Including arts and performances from all departments at HHS.
      3. Creative and fun: The name should convey the idea of a "Midway (as in the midway of a country fair or circus) of the Arts."
    • The NAME/TITLE of the event should be prominently featured on your poster, this should be exciting and eye-catching and FUN.
    • COLORS: This poster (and the tickets) will be printed on pastel colored paper in BLACK/WHITE/GRAY. DO NOT DESIGN IN COLOR, as colors will not print properly. If necessary, use IMAGE>MODE>GRAYSCALE, so that you design comes out in shades of gray, instead of color.
    • The phrase "AN EVENING OF ENTERTAINMENT FEATURING HIGHLAND'S VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENTS."
    • The Dates and Times of the performances: "APRIL 24TH AND 25TH at 6:30 P.M."
    • The Ticket Prices: "ADULTS: $10.00, SENIORS/STUDENTS: $7.00, CHILDREN 5 AND UNDER FREE."
    • Students must also create a TICKET for the event, as well, that exactly matches the THEME and LOOK of the poster. This ticket should be 4.25 inches x 5.5 inches, also in 300 dpi. It should include all of the same titles, fonts and show data as the poster, but with reduced graphics.
  • The Poster will be created on a PORTRAIT 8.5 x 11 inch canvas, created at 300 DPI.
  • The Poster should include eye-catching graphics that illustrate the concept of the events of the evening. Any Typography would be OK, simple graphics should be used, as well.
  • The Poster should use all of the design principles that we have been studying and practicing all year and should look clean and professional when completed!
  • The cover should NOT include anything inappropriate to the subject matter. Nothing creepy, no pictures of your girlfriend or favorite rap star, no guns, no crack pipes, no trippy designs. Anything turned in that is inappropriate in any way will be given a ZERO immediately and will likely be referred to Mr. Yaussi for further action.
  • The cover can include a very small "lastname, 2014" in the lower right corner, giving you credit for your design!

SOME VIDEO TUTORIALs THAT MIGHT BE USEFUL ON THIS PROJECT:

CREATION and SUBMISSION OF THE POSTER: Be creative with the design of your Poster! Just because you are restricted to black, white and gray does not mean that you can't be extremely creative with the look of your piece. When you are done with your cover and your ticket, save them as JPEGs and call them: lastname_ART_EVENT_POSTER.jpg and lastname_ART_EVENT_TICKET.jpg put them into the DROPBOX. YOU MUST ALSO PRINT YOUR POSTER and TICKET by 4:00 on the 27th of March, so that the Drama class can select and print the winning poster and ticket by the end of the day on the 29th. The winning posters will be posted around town in small format and will be advertised in large poster format here in the school.

GRADING: This project will be graded on the following criteria:

  • Project properly submitted AND printed by 4:00 p.m. on the 27th of March and there is evidence of thought, creativity and strong effort with no missing elements or errors: 150/150 points.

  • Project not properly printed and submitted by 4:00 p.m. on the 27th of March OR any other issues (poster completed, but missing or incorrect elements, poor execution, use of improper colors, misspelled words, etc.): 0/150 points.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Any student who has their poster design selected for printing and posting by the Art Departments will receive TWO FREE TICKETS to the play, a $14.00 value!