Ever since I parted company with Visionworks in 1997, I remained on good terms with my former partner, who continues to run the agency successfully and profitably. Every so often she will need design assistance with a client, and contracts with me to see her client’s needs met. In 2012, just before starting a comprehensive promotional campaign for the Missouri Symphony Society’s Hot Summer Nights program, her lead designer quit unexpectedly. Shorthanded and in need of a good deal of design work (and on a very limited timeframe), I was asked if I could step in as art director on the project, and contribute primary design themes for her remaining graphic designer to execute.
I started with a partial design left behind by the previous art director (consisting of little more than the image of the instrument on fire), and designed a program poster, concert flyer, ticket brochure, program book and an advertisement for a Christmas concert later in the year. For the program booklet, I provided the basic design layout for a concert using Lorem Ipsum so that the graphic designer could execute and replicate the design for the rest of the book with actual content.
The 2012 Hot Summer Nights campaign earned a Silver Award for Distinction from the International Academy of Visual Arts, and a Gold MarCom Award the following year.
