Recently, Goethe-Institut Chicago tapped me to design a brochure for a large performance festival going on in various locations around Chicago called Between Gestures. Produced in partnership with the Cultural Services of the Consulate of France in Chicago (as well as a panoply of co-sponsors and partners), the 10-day festival features performances, conversations, film screenings, and master classes at locations including the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, Stony Island Arts Bank, the Chicago Architecture Biennial at the Chicago Cultural Center, the Chicago International Film Festival at the AMC River East 21, the Poetry Foundation, and Columbia College.

The Brochure

There had been a few materials designed before I was conscripted to design the flyer, so I was working with a certain gold, and a font (Century Gothic) in order to match the preexisting branding.

We opted to print the flyer on a 70# uncoated text stock with a half- then tri-fold, giving it a convenient, pocket-sized dimension when folded, and a poster-sized dimension when unfurled.

The Trailer

My contact at Goethe then asked me to create a trailer for the festival, incorporating videos and stills of the performing artists (including some photos I shot a few years ago of the excellent singer/poet avery r. young). I took the opportunity to brush up my motion graphics skills in After Effects, and to learn how to use Adobe Premiere Pro (previously, I’d done my editing on simpler platforms). I enjoyed syncing the edits to the on- and offbeat emphases in the music by Simonne Jones.

The trailer premiered at the opening reception for the festival at the Arts Club of Chicago (in a room featuring unlabeled artworks by Braque, Tanguy, and Miró, among others), to great acclaim. Check it out above, and (if you’re in Chicago) be sure to attend a few of the performances and events by what promises to be a fascinating and provocative group of artists. Full information on the festival is available at betweengestures.org.