The committee of Newlands' Gala parents has been beavering away and the third annual Newlands Comedy Gala is taking shape. Nelly Thomas, esteemed and very funny comedian, (and a parent at Newlands) has drawn together an all star comedy cast, featuring the likes of Judith Lucy and Nazeem Hussain.
My part is pretty close to wrapped up - the design of the posters, flyers, postcards, banners and other little bits and pieces that are needed to spread the word. The interesting thing for me is that this is the third time I have done the promotional material for the Gala and I have finally done something that I like!
We have taken a different approach this year, concentrating our limited dollars into a different poster format, the big A0, and we have dispensed with colour. Working in black and white only is going back to basics and if it doesn't work it is obvious. There is no hiding behind fancy blends or fashionable palettes. Delicate patterns don't work at a distance. Drop shadows - forget 'em. Transparencies aren't helping. Just the basics.
Okay, then I cheated and threw in one colour, just for the little bits. And I have been surprised at how much impact that little bit of colour has. With a bigger budget we might have gone the two colours for the A0s but that will have to wait until the Comedy Gala is standing room only, though with this year's fabulous line up that is on the cards! And in the meantime I have re-aquainted myself with some design basics.
PS. My thanks'again to Hans Renzler of Braenda for making his lovely font Lovelo freely available. It means a lot to our little budget to have such a beautiful and distinctive font to work with.