Best of the flyer table
One of my continual frustrations as a theater rat with a scrabbly foot in the design world is the unforgivable lack of pretty in most show flyers. They’ll pay the lighting designer, they’ll pay the costume designer—they’ll sure as shit pay the director—they’ll get everything on stage looking Sunday-go-to-meetin’ purty, and then crap all over themselves with an ill-conceived, poorly designed flyer.
It’s like my crazy Polish art teacher whined about back in silkscreen class: the packaging on materials being sold to artists is among the dullest and horsiest design there is. Ah, sweet irony. (Of course, I say this knowing full well that our website is among the ugliest in town, but I’m not web-proficient enough to do anything about that end of the design thing. So there.) [UPDATE 10/9/07: our beautiful new site, designed by me and developed by Jen Rocha, is available for viewing here.]
Anyway, out of the (no lie) 25+ (!!!) flyers on Evidence Room’s box office entry table, above left are the few I found that I wish I’d done myself. Designers, feel free to step forward and introduce yourselves:
REDCAT’s tasty season brochure. Yum, yum. Of course, they’ve got funding out the wazoo and ties to one of the West coast’s greatest art communities. They’d be stoned for anything less than stellar design.
Jon Rivera’s Dogeaters flyer. Great use of oversize medium, color and imagery. Love the crazy low-end Photoshop work on Imelda’s eyes, too.
For juicy, juicy printing alone, the flyer for Phacts of Life (show running at The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Renberg Theater). Chris Rooney did the design; may have to email him for his printer’s digits. The show looks kinda cute, too, and features the always-hilarious Sam Pancake and a stellar roster of guest stars: Mink Stole, Kate Flannery and Mike Hitchcock.
Finally, I just plain liked the image on the flyer advertising Todd Noel’s work. Not as nuts about the rest of the stuff on his site (and not crazy about the font the Toddster chose for the flyer, either), but it got me to type in a URL and click, which is more than most of those flyer jockeys do.
xxx
c
5 Comments, Comment or Ping
Half Mad
I’ve also noticed that by far the worst advertising known to man (and women) is the stuff that targets people actually IN advertising. It’s as if anyone who actually knows how to write an ad doesn’t want to target him- or herself. (Whew–this self-consciously use of pronouns is making me tired.)
Nov 29th, 2004
Half Mad
I’ve also noticed that by far the worst advertising known to man (and women) is the stuff that targets people actually IN advertising. It’s as if anyone who actually knows how to write an ad doesn’t want to target him- or herself. (Whew–this self-consciously use of pronouns is making me tired.)
Nov 29th, 2004
sugi_grl
if you need a web designer, hit me up! also let’s see this taxali painting of yours, I only have a giclee print, you lucky dog!
Dec 8th, 2004
sugi_grl
ps it was the dogeaters flyer that caught my eye, it’s up here on our lunch room bulletin board and I’ve often thought of stealing it, maybe as soon as the show is over :)
Dec 8th, 2004
Chris
Communicatrix-
Thanks for the props on the Phacts of Life promotional materials that I designed. It’s been at least seven years since I did them. I just happened to find your site when I googled myself.
The creator of the show is a friend of mine and gave me free license to come up with the design. A parody of a (vintage) TV Guide cover seemed to be the perfect vehicle to advertise the show, which by the way was hilarious word-for-word stage reenactments of actual ‘Facts of Life’ episodes. The poster was featured in Print magazine’s annual Regional Design issue a few years back.
~Chris Rooney
Aug 3rd, 2007