This is a project that is standing the test of time. I still love it after years of looking at it.
I was asked to design and letterpress a birthday invitation for civil rights attorney, Howard Moore Jr. Because it was going to be a big celebration for a BIG personality I suggested we create a poster/broadside instead. It could be handed out to all of the guests as a gift and serve as a memento of the occasion.
In my research for the design, I found a speaking engagement of Mr. Moore's. The title of that day's talks was "Are you going to lie down, or stand up?" This call to action seemed like a perfect symbol of the attorney's career, so I decided to use this as the building block for my layout. I then found a powerful old photo of three men in the middle of a snowy railroad yard from the 70's in the emblematic pose, one fist in the air. Howard was well known for throwing up a Power-to-the-People fist himself, so the silhouettes of the men became the other component of my broadside.
From thereon in I played with the idea of dimension. Up and down of the type, the forward and receding of colors, and three-dimension of the figures with their shadows. These dimensional qualities were all underscored by the tactile quality of the letterpress printing.
Howard was very pleased. (No easy task, let me tell you.)
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