Adobe MAX Postcard Design
I was so excited to be invited to Adobe MAX for the first time and do an Adobe Live stream from the event this year! But having an “in” with the team yielded yet another super cool opportunity. I was asked to design a custom postcard that would be handed out at the event!
The prompt was a simple one, yet albeit somewhat terrifyingly vague: Community and what that means to me. After nearly 10 years in the biz, I’ve worked on project after project creating icons and illustrations trying to encapsulate the meaning of such a concept. What does community mean anyway? A collection of people with a common interest, a physical team with a like mind, a digital group that supports each other, maybe all of the above? With all those thoughts circling, I took to the task of creating.
I recently traveled to Italy for a remarkable 2-week trip across 4 cities. All over, I saw public squares filled with people enjoying coffee and cocktails, meeting their friends, playing music, and creating together. I used that as my primary inspiration. I imagined the creative community gathered in an open plaza sharing ideas and skills, working together, creating new things, engaging with and encouraging each other. Communities are connected by some kind of common interest, but they thrive when we share our knowledge and support one another, and that’s what this illustration represents.
If you’ve ever heard me speak about my design process and practice, you’ll know that I love experimenting with different styles and skills, keeps my creative juices flowing. So for this postcard, I did just that. Every artist has certain tendencies towards how they draw figures, I definitely still do, but the combination elongated figures, use of halftones, and heavy mix of scenarios is a new one for me. And I don’t mind saying, I’m so psyched about how the hands and feet turned out. Those are always tricky spots.
While luckily the concept came quickly, the illustration process absolutely did not lol. It took a total of 35 hours to create from start to finish. I spent the entire 8 hour plane ride home from Italy sketching and I still wasn’t done. Although in a way, the long creation time makes me even prouder of the final result. I love a good process video so check those out below.
I love creating higher-end, editorial illustrations. It’s something I never thought I’d be able to do which makes me enjoy the process even more. I’ve taken on several larger scale illustration projects, usually for larger businesses or publications, can I can’t wait for the next. If you have any specific illustration needs or ideas, send me a note!