Jazz-tastic

I know this isn’t necessarily a wedding invitation post, per se, but I felt it was relevant to share the story about this, while we’ve been talking about personifying an event through its invitation.

The event organizers for this fundraiser came to me and asked for a striking, budget-friendly invitation for a jazz event held each June. And our wonderful discussion about the project just flowed like a great musical piece: who the performers would be, what kind of expectation they had for the event, and what they wanted the invitation to convey with their budget and timeframe.

I love music. It’s such a universal way of communication and expression—bringing together all kinds of ages, backgrounds and interests. So naturally this was an exciting piece to do. And what’s the best way to get inspired for a project like this?

Immersion.

I listened to all kinds of jazz–not the elevator kind, but the kind that you might hear at your favorite coffee shop early in the mornings. The kind that makes you sit up straight and ask yourself what the performer is thinking while he or she is creating such beautiful sounds. I listened to the riffs and impromptu solos, and how they came back together to the melody. And when I created this invitation, all of those things came into play through type, the trumpet, and the placement of the event details.

I still like this piece even today. I like the orange, the grit of the type. The team at Rockport books liked it too, and included it in Design for Special Events, one of the publications I’ve been blessed to have work featured in.