Brighton event poster design competition – winner announced!

As a one-off special assignment in our current Make Art That Sells Bootcamp class, we recently challenged class participants to design a poster for our upcoming LIVE event in Brighton, UK, in June, ‘Make Art That Sells: The Global Art Gathering’. We were absolutely blown away by the response, and it was a difficult decision for Lilla, her studio ladies and our guest judge Judy Stevens, founder of Artists Open Houses Brighton.

After much deliberation they decide that the winner would be KATIE VERNON, whose stunning poster design completely captured the character of Brighton, a buzzing creative city on the South Coast of England.

KATIE VERNON

This is what the judges said about Katie’s piece:

Style

• It was definitely one of the most original pieces shown. It stood out from the others.
• The style is highly evolved and rendered in a consistent manner throughout the poster. The icons on the body are very beautifully painted.
• Reflects the vibe of Brighton, the Event and the MATS brand.
• The black line art is very cool. Minimal color palette adds sophistication.
• The hand-painted blue watercolor of the bathing suit is beautifully done and a is pretty foil to the more intense tattoos. We see the paint edges and subtle color modulations of the traditional media

Concept

• Edgy yet witty (Eye heart ART, Lilla as mermaid).
• An artist’s tattoos deliver the information about the event both literally and figuratively (in words and pictures). She’s wearing summer clothing—a bathing suit, perhaps—which communicates summer on the beach in a non-clichéd way. No seagulls or sailboats, not that that’s necessarily bad, but here it’s very fresh, which adds to the delight.
• The woman is holding three brushes which communicates that she is an art maker.
• The artist in the poster is very bad-ass (with nice lipstick).

Well designed poster

• The important info reads well very large (as a poster on the street) or very small (as postcards or on the web).
• The text is delivered in a hierarchy that matches the importance of the information (website info, etc., is smallest text)
• A great read quickly, but plenty of smaller details to reward a more careful look. I teach that your art needs to read well small for various purposes (such as web use). Here, the design reads well small: The woman’s shape is very graphic. The background yellow contrasts well against the silhouette of the body. The “Global Art Gathering” text is among the largest in any poster—and will read well from a distance—yet it doesn’t overpower the poster.

Plus, we just freakin’ loved it.

Katie wins $500, a 1-1 portfolio review with Lilla and a free place on the 2015 Global Talent Search (which will launch soon – stay tuned! Katie’s posters will be put up all over Brighton, and postcard-sized versions will be distributed in cafes across the city – congratulations Katie!

NOTE: There are only TWO places left for this event, which promises to be a special day of industry insight, advice, inspiration and community building. If you want to snap up one of the remaining two places, hurry and book here.

We were so impressed by the entries that we wanted to give special recognition to several others too. Each of the runners up will receive a free place on the 2015 Global Talent Search

The judges said about these entries: “There were loads and loads of fantastic pieces.

Here are just a few of the many that delighted us! These all exhibited strong compositions, were masterfully executed, and presented unique styles. The information was communicated clearly and in a way that was compelling as a poster. There was a quality of delight in each that would engage the viewer.”

MARTINA NG

DORIS LEE

JANE NEWLAND

KENDRA BINNEY

MARIA PARRISH

MEGHANN RADER

SANDRINE MONNIER

Congratulations all!