This project was commissioned by the Hola Hora Latina office which bases operations off of Knoxville, TN. Each year they host a fair where Hispanic communities come together to enjoy their shared cultures, and offer specialized services like endemic foods and other goods to Knoxville’s general public. As the designer, I was tasked with coming up with a friendly, warm, and inviting image that showcased the spirit of Latin America and the Caribbean, without making it too specific to a particular culture. I was also asked to do it in a Huichol style, which is an art form from Mexico where images are created with bright colors, and a beaded pattern.
The solution I found was to make a Huichol style sun raising over the Knoxville skyline, representing the arrival of the festival. The festival’s symbol (the sun) is friendly and welcoming, and smiles with satisfaction. The Huichol style is naturally colorful and happy, which brings an extra layer of positive energy to the composition. The client wanted the featured fireworks to appear in the poster, and so I decided to add them also with Huichol style, to add to the playfulness and color. To avoid this composition from becoming generic, I added the skyline and the characteristic River that cuts across the city, to make it unique to Knoxville.
The strenght of the poster lies in its ability to call people from afar with the simple, bright face, and then, once pulled in, the audience can appreciate the details of the work, as well as the information above, which is neatly separated from the rest of the composition so that it doesn’t interfere with the artwork.