SXSW Public Radio Poster
Every year during SXSW, KUTX produces four live showcases over four consecutive days including the Public Radio Day Stage. These events are an opportunity for new and local bands to showcase their talent to thousands of music lovers.
Through the UT Austin Design Residency Program, I was introduced to the KUTX staff and given the opportunity to create a 2023 Public Radio Day Stage screen printed poster that would be handed out on the day of the event.
TOOLS USED: Adobe Photoshop, Screen Printing Equipment, Procreate App
Print Residency, Spring 2023
KUTX Austin Public Radio
19x12.5” Screen Printed Poster
Initial RRK Choices
Type Exploration
The RRK wood typefaces are physical objects but UT Austin has digital versions of each typeface.
I was able to play around with different typeface pairings and poster layouts.
Though I had a tremendous amount of creative freedom, I had one main parameter I had to follow which was working with the Rob Roy Kelly (RRK) Wood Type collection currently housed in the UT Austin design lab. With over 150 typefaces from the 1800s, I needed to narrow it down to at LEAST one. (decisions, decisions!)
Illustration Time!
Once I had a general idea of how I would lay out the important information, I was ready to start sketching illustration ideas!
Themes I kept in mind:
Radio
Sunrise (day stage)
A.I. (a hot topic in tech & design this year)
I wanted to keep the theme of this being a public radio event. I wanted to personify the radio as a futuristic A.I. being.
Phase 1 color palette
Digital Finals
After getting the green light on my sketches from KUTX, I started to work on color choice and finer details.
Next comes the best part… Screen Printing.
Scroll down to check out my layer setup and process video!
Phase 2 Fine tuned color palette, with details
Screen Printing Process
This is a brief look at how my files were set up to print 3 different colored layers. I hand-mixed the paint to be as identical to the digital image as possible, I also tried my hand at gradients! (I had been opposed to gradients because they made me think of those goofy Microsoft Word Art galleries, you know the ones…) Gradients are now my new favorite thing!
Below are the 3 color steps I took to create my final poster:
1st Layer - Yellow Gradient
Process Video
CREDITS
2nd Layer - Light Blue
Me, printing the first layer
3rd Layer - Dark Blue Soft Gradient
My posters on the giveaway table at the SXSW event
I would like to thank the following people:
Henry Smith (design lab professor) for the guidance, advice, and literally lending me the strength to cut and screen print 100 of these posters!
Abraham Neiswinter (classmate) for giving much-needed, helpful critiques along the way.
Also, Every single person who saw me working on this for weeks and hyped me up to the finish line, I appreciate you!