Trying to avoid the typical direction of what a Junior Boy’s poster could be (electro related imagery & type) there was a reach back to the source of inspiration for their last record, NFB animator Norman Mclaren.

In the spirit of his animation pieces, the main image on the poster was made by scratching on a strip of 35mm film.

There was also hesitation in resorting to a soft, refined type (Archer) to mirror their music. The chosen Amplitude typeface might end up being a bit aggressive but hopefully the poster’s result can end up creating a comment on the music rather than having to representing it. Which is either confusing or a really interesting space posters can inhabit.

Montreal has an amazing concert poster community with towering individuals (Serie Pop!) plastering the walls around the city with wonderful work … but much of it is also cheaply made adverts that all look the same.

This work, commissioned by Blue Skies Turn Black, attempts to fuse the bargain budget with some sort of distinct, refined aesthetic. Staying away from the default 11 x 17 sizes was a must, the printers don’t allow for bleeds in this format anyway – and bleeds were a must if any dynamism was to be injected. No color was a welcomed restriction, trying to create interest through bold shapes and confident design layout. The cheap kraft paper stock brought life to these small posters that worked fairly well when positioned next to the dull white pages and fully colored posters.

1 - Block of 40 brown Kraft sheets cut in 2 makes 80 pages = 6$ +1$ (cut)
2 - Print outs of 80 posters (9” x 16”) at corner store Printer = 10$
3 - Four Cuts to crop the poster to right size = 4$

www.blueskiesturnblack.com