Recently, I offered to design promotional materials for the Portland Lindy Society’s (PLS) regular weekly dance. They are the nonprofit swing dance group in Portland and their flyers needed a bit of design help. Since I was actively involved in marketing their recent large event, I thought it would benefit them if they had flyers and posters at the event to help them promote their regular dance night. They wanted something hip and eye catching — something that represented the energy of swing dancing. The flyers are 5.5×4.25 inches with color on the front and black on the back.

The thing that sets PLS apart from the other swing dance organizers in the area is that they are a community run/volunteer organization. I thought it was fitting to include several different members of the community on the flyers to help represent that diversity. Here is the full set:

I also designed an 11×17 poster for them to post at venues and around town. They liked it so much, they blew it up and created a 22×34 canvas version of it.

The photos were taken by Dennis Goetz Photography. If you look closely, you will notice that I drew all of their clothes and hair in Illustrator to give them a unique quality that is easily recognized from flyer to flyer. I went with the bright orange and olive green because the colors attract the eye and are edgy together.

What do you think? Do they accomplish the intended purpose?

This entry is archived under Graphic Design and you can keep updated on the conversation by subscribing to the comments RSS feed.

You might also be interested in reading the following blog entries:

• Portland Swing Fest Poster
• 2009 PDXLX Promo and Event Materials
• Let them dance!
• Marketing Your Brand: Part 2
• Poster Design Inspiration: Nothing Like a Dame