SOUNDS JUICY
Gig Poster Case Study
PROJECT GOALS
For this project, my goal was to create a concert poster for a completely fictional band, but I wanted it to feel just as fun and eye-catching as something you’d actually see on a venue wall. I pulled inspiration from the kind of music I love the most, so the direction naturally leaned upbeat, pop-heavy, girly, and fun. I wanted the poster to feel like a burst of personality—bright, bold, and full of that playful energy you get from a good pop song.
FINDING INSPIRATION
While scrolling through Pinterest for ideas, I came across a collage of fruit stickers and immediately stopped. There was something so charming about them. The simple shapes, bright colors, and playful typography almost felt like they were begging to be turned into a gig poster. Each sticker already had ingredients that translate perfectly into design work. They had bold, dynamic text, a cute little icon right in the center, and even a barcode that could easily double as a show date. It felt like the perfect mix of nostalgia and pop energy, so that’s where the whole concept started to take shape.
SKETCHING LOTS OF IDEAS
A lot of my early sketches came before the fruit sticker idea officially clicked, but even then you can see I kept drifting toward fruit themes. Something about the shapes and textures just felt fun to play with. As I experimented with different compositions, the concept of using a fruit slice or peel with a sticker on it started to stand out. It gave me a clean focal point while still keeping that playful energy.
Zooming in on the fruit sticker ended up being the strongest direction. Showing it close-up with just a hint of the fruit’s skin behind it created a bold, graphic look that matched the vibe I wanted. It was simple, bright, and instantly readable—everything a gig poster should be.
First Draft and Edits
I was really excited about where the first draft was going, but something still felt a little off. To get a fresh perspective, I reached out to my mentor for feedback, and his notes helped me understand exactly what needed to shift. He pointed out three main things…
Conflicting Shapes
First, the oval shape of the sticker didn’t flow well with the angled text and the perfectly round orange in the center. The mixture of shapes created uneven negative space, which made the design feel a little busy and unbalanced. Once he said it, I couldn’t unsee it.
Clashing Fonts
Second, the numbers underneath the barcode were using the same font as the main text. At such a small scale, it made them harder to read, and visually it didn’t feel authentic to how a real barcode looks. That detail matters, because the whole idea of using the barcode as a show date only works if the viewer instantly recognizes it.
Too Much Empty Space
Finally, he mentioned that the very top and bottom of the poster felt a bit empty. Adding another sticker, a leaf, or even a small decorative element could pull the eye around the whole composition and give the layout more energy.
His critiques gave me a clear roadmap for the next round of refinement, and they pushed the project from “good” to something much more polished.
THE FINAL DRAFT
With all of that feedback in mind, I jumped back into Illustrator and started making edits until everything felt just right. The first change I made was adding two extra stickers to fill the empty space and bring more personality into the layout. One sticker took on a playful “sale” style to announce the venue, and the other introduced the opener with a fun “now with” message. Those additions instantly made the whole poster feel more complete and alive.
I also added a small leaf at the top of the page, giving it a cute, organic touch and creating a nice visual balance. From there, I refined the main sticker by shifting it from an oval to a perfect circle. I adjusted the arch of the text and the shape of the orange icon so everything aligned cleanly and felt intentional.
These edits pulled the design together in a way that felt polished, cohesive, and full of the cheerful energy I wanted from the very beginning.
TA-DA!
In the end, this poster accomplished exactly what I set out to create. It feels upbeat, girly, and fun, just like the music that inspired it. The fruit sticker concept gave the design a playful twist, and the refinements helped everything come together in a clean, polished way. It looks like something you could spot on a real venue wall, which was my goal from the start, and it captures the bright, happy energy I wanted to share through this project.