Middle Ear Media » Graphic Design

September Poster Design for Harley’s Lounge

obadiah — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:11:20 +0000

The September poster for Harley’s Lounge features a photo of an old Polaroid camera at the top. This camera represents those special moments in life that can be captured instantly, but will eventually fade away to be replaced by others. The camera sits on a wooden shelf and is peaking out from underneath a dark, grimy texture with the overall effect resembling old film that wasn’t stored properly or maybe a photo that was just pulled from a fire.

Only one font, Zurich LtXCn BT was used for this poster. It is a clean looking, easy-to-read font that contrasts with the dirty, grungy background. The title and the band names are green, the dates and details are purple. These aren’t just flat colors though, because I’ve employed a subtle gradient on them to make them stand out more.

Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

August Poster Design for Harley’s Lounge

obadiah — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:19:43 +0000

The August poster for Harley’s Lounge features the Mayan calendar both as the center piece as well as the background. In the center, it is covered by white splatter which makes the title easier to read. For the background, I used a gray, brushed metal texture. Also, the large Mayan calendar in the background is offset to the lower left with blend mode set to luminosity and opacity set to 14% so the brushed metal texture comes through.

Three different fonts were used for this design. Most of the copy, including the dates and band names use AlternateGothic2 BT while the month uses AmerType Md BT and the title uses Action Is, Shaded JL.

Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

July Poster Design for Harley’s Lounge

obadiah — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:05:14 +0000

The July poster for Harley’s Lounge incorporates a military-industrial style in honor of my brother who recently re-enlisted in the service. The font used is Stencil BT for that “military crate” look. The color scheme for the copy is based on camouflage and includes various greens, rust brown and gray. A light drop shadow helps set the copy apart from the background.

The background consists of faded green schematics that look like they’ve just been pulled out of the glove box of an old jeep. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

June Poster Design for Harley’s Lounge

obadiah — Sun, 30 May 2010 17:45:37 +0000

For the June poster design, I used a close-up photo of some old barn wood for the background. I love the rugged look of the wood. It has such a great, weathered character and so much depth. I added a little flare and contrast with three brightly colored gears. The way the gears overlap each other combined with the bright colors almost make it look like a bouquet of flowers.

I wanted the words to look somewhat hand drawn, but very legible. I kept the font colors very light with white, blue, and gray. Two fonts were used, one for the title, and the other for everything else. Both have rough edges and irregularities that give them a hand drawn effect.

Also, drop shadows help set the copy apart from the background and improve readability. The final design is an interesting mix of historical character and energetic vigor. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

May Poster Design for Harley’s Lounge

obadiah — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:50:14 +0000

For the May poster design, I used a photo of the rocks at Presque Isle on the shore of Lake Superior for the background. By laying a close-up image of the rocks over the clear blue sky, I achieved an effect similar to satellite imagery of clouds.

I chose a sans serif font for readability. The final design is very vibrant and shows the natural beauty of Marquette in May. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

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April Poster Design for Harley’s Lounge

obadiah — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:41:58 +0000

For the April poster design, I kept it fairly simple with a focus on readability. I used a dark gray to black gradient for the background, then added a very faint but highly warped version of the text for a little bit of attitude. Finally, I chose white, and a couple shades of vibrant blue for the text colors.

This creates a high contrast between the background and foreground for better visibility in dimly lit areas. The modern font, tilted slightly, is clean and easy to read. The use of all capitals (except for the band names) makes it even easier to read from a distance. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

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March Poster Design for Harley’s Lounge

obadiah — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:03:33 +0000

For the March poster design, I returned to the idea of doing a text based design that I had last month. The layout is loosely structured around the sacred geometry of a golden spiral that sweeps out from the bottom right corner and curves around from the upper left to the upper right corner where it closes in on itself.

I used many different fonts overlayed on each other to give a feeling of depth. The busyness of the fonts are balanced by the minimal color scheme including various shades of gray, purple, and pink.

The cool, simple effect matches the reality of March in Marquette, Michigan. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

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2010 Poster Design for Terracotta half-life

obadiah — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:35:51 +0000

I just finished a new poster design for Terracotta half-life. The poster lists gig dates for the first half of 2010 as well as the band’s website. I based this design on some ancient Egyptian art. It has a gritty feel due to the use of subtle textures and shades of dark gray. This darkness of the bottom half is contrasted with multiple layers of warm colors and patterns on the top half.

There are two fonts used. One is a mono-spaced serif that looks like it could be from an old printing press, and the other is very futuristic. I used these to impart a sense of timelessness. By using the same warm colors from the Egyptian art on the text, the bottom half is tied in with the top. I also used green and white, two colors that were taken directly from the color scheme at terracottahalflife.com in order to create some continuity of branding.

Terracotta half-life is a musical group based out of Marquette, Michigan that I started about five years ago. Performing with the group are some of the areas finest musicians. Over the years I’ve designed Logos, T-shirts, Stickers, and many Posters for the band.

February Poster Design for Harley’s Lounge

obadiah — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:05:43 +0000

I felt like doing something different for February. At first I was thinking about doing a completely text based design, until I had a vision of a zipper. I’ll save the text idea for next month.

The lower portion is a colorful spattering of blues and greens. This area is held together by a half-way unzipped zipper, which opens up to show the white space behind. Over the white space is the main info in a modern font with a black and red color scheme.

The overall effect is very futuristic and leaves a thick science fiction residue. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette, Michigan that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

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January Poster Design for Harley’s Lounge

obadiah — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 20:46:30 +0000

The year has just begun, so it’s back to work for me. The first poster of 2010 for Harley’s Lounge has just been finished. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette, Michigan that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

For January, I used an image of an old sandstone brick wall for the background. After giving it a red tint, I added yellow and white text in a fancy but readable font.

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