connecticut car show calendar
Car shows are pretty big in Connecticut, both for classic lovers and modern marvels. When my professor proposed the idea of an event calendar project using our own photography, I knew I wanted to do something local and meaningful to me. As a kid, I went to many car shows with my dad. Today, I spend time with my partner and friends at meets and events.
Creating this calendar was a nostalgic experience and it was incredibly fun to experiment with both modern and more ‘vintage’ design styles.
research
Before attending the car show where I took close to 200 photos, I put together two different Pinterest boards. I had not decided which direction I wanted to go, so I made one board centered around classic cars, and one around modern cars to help me decide.
The car show I attended was a mix of all kinds of cars, making the decision even harder. I selected my favorite images, which were also a mix. Instead of spending hours dissecting each, I got down to creating as if each would be a standalone piece. From there, I was able to identify my strengths in each style and finally decide on a direction.
composition
Before deciding on a direction, I was able to narrow my image choices down to one of each style. One of the photos I chose was a red 70s Pontiac GTO, and the other was a neon green Dodge Viper. Both cars are stunning in their own ways, so to showcase their unique styles I created separate logos, type pairings, and color palettes for each.
From there, I began to build the poster, first by organizing the events and then adjusting sizing and spacing to see what worked best.
Sketching out my design helped a lot, but also made me realize that not everything on paper translates exactly to the computer. The perfect ideas I drew just didn’t fit. This was a great reminder that I’m still learning each day, and design is truly trial and error.
Design after design, the GTO calendar was just not speaking to me like the Viper did. In the end, my choice was clear, and all that was left for me to do was refine and adjust.
final design
The final design features the Dodge Viper badge and the black stripe on the hood of the car. I utilized the black stripe as the background for the text to add contrast and really make the green accents pop.
For type choices, I decided to use sans serif typefaces for the logo and body text as sans serif fonts are considered more modern than serif fonts. The white text on a black background is also a more modern trend, so this direction seemed like an obvious choice as it flowed easily.
