There is a unique thrill in designing for the theater. The goal is always to capture the kinetic energy, the narrative depth, and the visual spectacle of a live performance and distill it all into a single static image. When the opportunity arose to create the promotional poster for the LSUA Empty Space Players’ production of Pippin, I was immediately on board. This production marked the first musical performed on campus, making it a milestone event for the university's arts community. The artwork needed to be as memorable and ambitious as the production itself.
For this project, my ideation phase started in Procreate. My initial sketches focused heavily on a showman caricature of Pippin. I envisioned him wearing a classic top hat, with an integrated crown motif, a subtle nod to Pippin’s royal lineage and his overarching quest for extraordinary meaning.
To give the piece a sense of theatrical grandeur, I designed the showman’s jacket to have a flowing, whimsical quality. As the fabric drapes downward, it seamlessly transforms into the heavy, velvet curtains of a stage, bridging the gap between the storyteller and the story being told. It was a strong starting point, but the design truly clicked into place once I collaborated with the show’s director.
Patrick Hunter, the director of this production, had a brilliant concept for the stage design. Rather than relying on traditional, static sets, he envisioned using industrial flight cases scattered across the stage.
The idea was to present the show as a pop-up traveling troupe. The actors would begin the performance in normal, everyday clothing, wandering among closed travel cases. As they prepared to tell the story of Pippin, the cases would be thrown open to reveal medieval set pieces, and the actors would don their theatrical outfits. This "story-within-a-story" approach provided an incredible well of inspiration for the poster. It gave the production a distinct visual identity that I wanted to incorporate into the final artwork.
Taking my initial sketches into Adobe Illustrator, I began merging my showman concept with the pop-up show aesthetic. I created a traditional, leather travel case as the frame of the design. From this open case, the showman and the stage burst outward, popping up much like a vintage music box. The goal was to give the viewer something new to discover the longer they looked at it, mirroring the unfolding layers of the musical itself.
One of the primary challenges I faced during the rendering process was managing the tone. With elements like a showman, a top hat, and a traveling troupe, there was a risk of the design feeling a bit too cliché or heavily leaning into "carnival" themes. Pippin is a deeply layered story, and I wanted the aesthetic to reflect a blend of medieval history and contemporary flair without looking like a circus.
To solve this, I shifted my focus toward geometric shapes and a highly specific color palette inspired by traditional playing cards. The playing card aesthetic proved to be the perfect bridge. It inherently carries medieval, royal undertones (kings, queens, and jacks) while utilizing a clean, bold art style that feels distinctly modern.
The final illustrated poster perfectly encapsulates the magic, mystery, and dynamic energy of this classic musical. It was an honor to contribute my design work to such a landmark production for the LSUA liberal arts, and it stands as a project I am incredibly proud to feature in my portfolio.
