Design Competition - Final (2 entries)

Please note, I will copy/paste some of the information provided below in postings for the preliminary work for the sake of completeness of this final submission.  The first version of the poster is unchanged from Round 2.  The second version of the poster has been modified substantially.

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original photo

I decided to design a music poster for the 2012 Adobe Design Achievement Awards print communications competition.  I used my photo of Charlie (CHUCK) on guitar and created two versions of the music poster.

Version 1 of 2

For the first version of the poster one uses the photo with two blended overlays, a texture created in Photoshop along with a random radial gradient.  I created a feathered mask using the pen tool in the path mode for the texture layers.  These layers were set to color burn and normal blending, respectively.  I retouched the photo including removing blemishes, toning down the white of the sweater and removing a distracting element inside the guitar. I added two sets of lettering, each with several effects.

For the second version of the poster, I used the same image of Chuck. I used three overlayed photos of mine for background images and converted the image of Chuck to a high-contrast mask.  One of the background images was set on exclusion blending, one on hard mix, while the third was on difference blending.  I decided any border would detract from the image.  I also opted for very simplified text, since the design was already visually complex.

Version 2 of 2

Since the 2012 Adobe Design Achievement Awards requires an artist statement or description of the piece of 100 words or less, I have provided write up below which can go with either version of the poster. Although the two versions of the poster are very different from each other in style, I feel they accomplish the same design goal.  Please note - the story of Chuck is made up, although Chuck (Charles) is his real name and he does play guitar. While the rest of the story below is fictitious, it describes the my intended message and mood I was striving for in the posters.

"My good friend Chuck is a regular feature on Friday nights at the Oasis Grill.  His music has an unexpected, yet intimately familiar quality. He is a thoughtful solo performer who intersperses his own poetic compositions with carefully selected and innovative covers of classic reggae, rock and instrumental rhythm and blues.  I wanted to create a poster worthy of his complex and creative musical spirit - a poster evocative of the swirling interwoven threads of imagery I enjoy in his music. I also hope that this poster will help Chuck draw the audience he deserves.  Rock on, Chuck!"