The assignment

Design an 18” x 24” poster for the Husbands performance at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party. The poster must include relevant information about the performance (fictional date/time/location) and the Block Party (city, state, dates, URL).

The “client”

Husbands is a “indie, garage, surf, pop, rock” band based in Oklahoma City. Their sound is laidback and beachy, with what 405 Magazine describes as “intentional hints of anxiety” in some of their newer music. Their aesthetic is retro in a broad sense, with graphic references in their promotional materials and music videos ranging from midcentury beach vacation, to 70’s animation, to 90’s Windows computer graphics and early 00’s memes.

Husbands upcoming album, Cuatro, is the first solo project by Dan Davis following the recent departure of his bandmate, Wil Norton.

Want to give them a listen? Check out their recent release, Face Molt.

The concept

I wanted a design that mirrors Husbands’ newest album art and music videos. My vision was for something summery, retro, and cheerful, but with a bizarre and unsettling edge that fits both the music scene and this band in particular. To achieve this, I used a bright teal, salmon, and pink color palette and a blue tiled pool background. The title typeface, HWT Arabesque, is modeled on 1960s psychedelic design with excessive effects applied—a nod to 1960’s surf rock and to 1990’s computer graphics, both of which are present in the band’s theming. The digital collage over Dan’s face with large eyes and mouth echoes how the musician depicts himself. The computer alert boxes serve practically to highlight the most important information about the show, evoke Husbands music videos, and add that “intentional hint of anxiety” as a counterbalance to the summer vacation vibes. Finally, I added some hand illustration to mirror Capitol Hill Block Party’s 2023 theming and add to the watery vacation feeling.

The solution

Additional photos by Adam Neumann, Addy Mae, Georgina Vigliecca, Maria Fernanda Pissioli (Unsplash).

Sources

Husbands Find Bliss in the Apocalypse (405 Magazine)

OKC duo Husbands gets intentional with sophomore album (The Oklahoman)

Optimism, Sunshine and Gearing up for SXSW (District Fray Magazine)

A Conversation with Husbands (Square One Magazine)