To celebrate famed 70s soul/folk musician Shuggie Otis’ triumphant return to the stage at London’s Jazz Cafe, Sony Music/Legacy Recordings commissioned a gig poster. An original illustrated print to be distributed at the venue as a value-add piece for the fans.

As a big fan of gig poster design, myself and the client wanted to create something that had the feel of the iconic Fillmore posters of the 60s/70s, but with a more contemporary feel.

With that as inspiration, the goal was to create something equally as iconic and befitting, for an artist of Shuggie’s stature. Starting with initial sketches based on photography supplied by the client, the intention was to create an image that best represented the core appeal of the artist. As a longtime listener of Shuggie’s music, to my mind this essence might be best depicted by a simple image of the singer and his guitar.

Since the typography had to feel dynamic to fit the overall Fillmore gig poster design aesthetic, I had the idea to work it into Shuggie’s hair.

The poster was drawn using a Wacom tablet and Adobe Illustrator. The finished product was digitally printed on A3 300gsm matte board, and distributed at the Jazz Cafe gigs.

In addition to the event, signed copies of the poster were circulated by the Sony marketing team. These were gifted to DJs and journalists as part of ongoing promotion efforts.

Services:

Illustration
Poster Design