RochesterInternationalJazz Festival
A class brief: redesign the poster and program for the Rochester International Jazz Festival, using the copy and schedule for its 2026 edition. The festival runs free shows on several stages over nine days, so most of the work was turning a long schedule into a clear hierarchy. The geometric letters bring the rhythm, and the schedule stays easy to read.
The brief
We were given the festival's copy for 2026, a template for a single sheet, and the 2019 poster for reference. One side of the sheet is a poster. The other side folds into a program with a front cover, a back cover and two inside panels, and the inside panels print upside down so they read the right way once folded.
The 2019 poster, given as reference
Template, poster side
Template, program side
Drafts
I started from the word JAZZ and tried it several ways before choosing one.
Letter shapes
Blocky letters first, then tall letters of different widths.
Brush lettering
Drawn by hand with a brush.
Serif and color
Didot at a large size, in black and in orange and blue.
Foam texture
Letters filled with photographs of soap foam.
Round ten
Six versions that go back over each direction. I chose the last one, built from geometric shapes.
Where the shapes came from
The geometric JAZZ started from an image I generated with ChatGPT. I redrew the shapes as vectors in Illustrator, changed the colors to orange and charcoal, replaced the wavy Z with straight blocks, and set the type in Didot.
Generated with ChatGPT
Generated with ChatGPT
Round ten, sixth version
Final poster
The program side
Each day opens with the day and date in large Didot capitals. Stage names sit in orange italic capitals, times are bold and right-aligned so the minutes line up, and band names follow in regular weight. The side went through two versions before the final one.
Program side, final
First version
Second version
Program, folded
Poster
Mockups use stock templates provided in class.
Type: Didot and Myriad. Color: orange and charcoal on cream. Tools: Illustrator for the poster, InDesign for the program, Photoshop for the mockups.