Always Summer Poster Design Show Recap

As if all of the Aaron Draplin excitement wasn’t enough to blow our minds for a couple of months, AIGA Jacksonville’s Always Summer Poster Show + Mix Tape took place Saturday, October 1, wrapping up the Always Summer Weekend.

In true AIGA Jacksonville fashion, graphic designers came out in droves. Roughly 80 posters were contributed — a record number — and more than 150 people attended. It was awesome to see so many familiar and new faces.

The show took place at Thief in the Knight gallery in Downtown Jacksonville. Special thanks to gallery operator Richard Reichstadter for all of the help, and for letting us wreak havoc at the gallery for a bit. The space was a perfect fit. With a rustic feel, brick walls, plenty of space and excellent lighting, the show was bound to be a success from the beginning. Even the humid Jacksonville weather cooperated and gave us a nice, cool evening.

The night certainly couldn’t have been such a blast without the assistance of musical masterminds Dennis Eusebio (DJ Squints), Varick Rosete (DJ Vulture) and Ian Latchmansingh (DJ Mowgli) who set the tone for the night. What’s even more awesome is that they are all designers, making the underlying goal — getting the city’s creative community to come together for a kick-ass event — possible.

Each year one person is given the people’s choice design award. The concept reflects the casual vibe of the event and allows everyone to cast their vote, with no formalized judging or overly serious, nerve-racking stakes. Three winners received prize packages that included design books, posters, fun summer-related toys and more. We had some really great posters this year, and the voting was close. In the end, Bryant Hardwick took top prize for his “Beatles–Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” poster, which was well illustrated, with beautiful colors, textures and composition. Second place went to Jenny Bello and Lauren Hussey took home third. Click here to check out more posters from this year’s show.

Three winners received prize packages that included design books, posters, fun summer-related toys and more.

In the end, the Always Summer Weekend was inspiring and rejuvenating. Not only did we get to hear the refreshing, encouraging and inspiring words of Aaron Draplin, but we were also allowed creative liberties with a client-free design “project” for the poster show and saw the diverse design approaches of nearly 100 Jacksonville designers and artists. The combination of these events made for a really fun, action-packed, design-heavy weekend.

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this weekend possible. We have an amazing creative community here in Northeast Florida, and it’s weekends like these that prove that. Always Summer keeps getting bigger, better and more inspiring, so be ready for next year. It will be here before you know it!

Here’s a look at my submission to the show.