Art Festival Poster

I created the winning poster design for the Suttons Bay Art Festival, held annually near Traverse City, Michigan. While the required festival text was provided, the visual direction was left open to the artists. My concept aimed to capture the nostalgic charm of a Northern Michigan summer evening—something that would resonate with both locals and visitors.
Since I had never been to Suttons Bay, I began with research into the area, its art festivals, and past winning designs to better understand the style the selection committee might value. From there, I designed a scene of sailboats drifting into a dreamy sunset, with the graphic taking center stage to emphasize the poster’s appeal as a collectible artwork.
Typography was chosen to harmonize with the colors of the sails, creating unity while standing out against the darker background. The poster was designed in Illustrator, with added texture effects in Photoshop to give the piece depth and character.