Monterey Jazz Festival

Overview

The Project

A two-phase poster design system created to promote a jazz music festival through a strategic visual rollout — a Teaser Poster to spark curiosity, followed by a Final Poster to deliver full event information.

"The design merges classic jazz elements with modern digital aesthetics — piano keys, sound bars, and floating notes translate music into visual form."

Goal 01

Capture the essence of jazz through bold visual design

Goal 02

Build anticipation before revealing full event details

Goal 03

Maintain visual consistency across all touchpoints

The Designs

Poster & Postcards

Three deliverables — a full event poster and two postcard variants — each using the same visual language to build a cohesive campaign identity across formats.

Final Poster — Fillmore Theatre · May 28th

Teaser Postcard — (Dark)

Teaser Postcard — Version B (Red)

01 — Teaser Poster

Building Curiosity

For the teaser postcard, I placed the central visual within a black background and framed it using a thin white border to create focus and structure. My main intention was to highlight the word JAZZ, making it the dominant visual element.

I designed the JAZZ typography in Illustrator using a blue gradient, giving it a vibrant and contemporary feel. The words Monterey and Festival were kept simple with clean fonts and adjusted kerning, ensuring quick readability while allowing JAZZ to stand out.

The background image of the piano, rendered in black and white, adds a classic and timeless jazz aesthetic — reinforcing the genre's roots while balancing the modern typography.

Design Focus

Black — elegance and depth
White — clarity and contrast
Blue gradient — jazzy energy

Typography

Custom JAZZ lettering
Gradient: blue → cyan
Geometric structure

Teaser Postcard — Coming Up This Summer

02 — Final Poster

Full Reveal

For the final poster, I followed the same visual theme established in the teaser to maintain consistency. The stylised JAZZ typography continues as the focal point, with key event details — venue, date, and time — clearly structured around it.

Below the main information, I placed the black-and-white piano image, acting as both a visual break and a continuation of the theme. The background of colourful musical notes using an ombre effect creates a lively jazz ambiance while subtly fading towards the bottom.

Information Hierarchy

Festival Name — Primary Focus
Event Details — Date, Venue, Time
Artist Lineup
Call to Action — Ticket Sales

Final Poster — All event details revealed

03 — Design Concept

Rhythm Meets Structure

Each visual element was deliberately chosen to translate the feeling of music into graphic form — from the piano keys to the floating note ombre.

01

Piano Keys

The foundation of jazz — rendered in B&W to ground the design in the genre's timeless heritage.

02

Sound Bars

Vertical bars rising from the keys visualise rhythm, energy, and the dynamic range of live music.

03

Floating Notes

Coloured notes in ombre create atmosphere, movement, and the festival's lively spirit.

04 — Design System

Colour & Mood

The palette communicates sophistication and nightlife energy — with two distinct postcard variants (dark and red) demonstrating range within a consistent identity.

Deep Black

Blue → Cyan

Off-White

Jazz Red

Warm Yellow

Transition Strategy

Stage	Purpose	Visual Approach	Key Element
Teaser	Build curiosity	Minimal info, bold type	JAZZ dominates layout
Final	Drive action	Full details, hierarchy	CTA + artist lineup

05 — Reflection

Learnings

01

Minimalism creates powerful engagement — restraint is itself a design decision.

02

Typography can act as the primary visual when used boldly and with intention.

03

Gradual information reveal increases audience interest and anticipation effectively.

Credits

Design: Self-initiated project
Tools: Adobe Illustrator / Photoshop
Typography: Custom gradient lettering
Piano image source: Pinterest.com

Outcome

Captures attention immediately
Builds anticipation effectively
Communicates hierarchy clearly
Encourages ticket purchase