At the time, Jennifer was slotted to attend the conference, however she had to back out shortly after. Mona still wanted to present the poster. She made two design requests: that the poster dimensions be 16×20″, with enough white space around the border for signatures, and that the main image included a book made of word art. When it comes to design, you might think that the less direction there is, the easier it is to create something. That is not the case for me, mostly because I don’t want to waste my time on a design that ends up in the trash.
Before I started, I thought about the project and made a list of things to include. Obviously, the book word art and poster size were at the top of the list. Since the poster was a gift from the Association, I decided it should reflect their logo colors. I looked through the list of keywords Mona provided for the word art, and even flipped through my copy of Jennifer’s book for more word art phrases. Once I picked out the fonts and graphics I wanted to use, it was time to start putting it all together.
I won’t lie and say that the first draft of the poster came out perfectly. In fact, it took me a while to create a presentable first draft. I put a lot of pressure on myself because this poster would be the first thing of mine that most of the conference attendees would see. It was not allowed to suck or look a hot mess, but that pretty much defines the first draft. I didn’t like it and neither did Mona. One night, right before the poster was due, Mona and I e-mailed back and forth. I sent her pictures and asked which elements she liked best of each version. Based on her responses, I was able to tweak the design until I had something that we were both happy with.
At first, I wasn’t overly excited about the poster. I think that all the trouble it caused clouded my judgment. It took a few days to grow on me, but I love the poster now.
The Poster:
For a full-sized view, right-click the image below and open the link in a new tab.
Love it, Alisha! Thank you! And congrats! You’ve left a wonderful “first” impression on those of us in APH! Smiles, Cherie of Denver
Thank you, Cherie! I really appreciate that. :)
Fabulous piece. What a thoughtful gift to Jennifer from APH. Thank you, Alisha, for including your description above. That made it even more interesting to view.
It’s terrific, Alisha! Thank you for doing this for my fellow, but much more awesome, Canadian colleague.
You have every reason to love it, Alisha–it’s wonderful! Jennifer must have been so pleased …
Thank you, Jean. That’s very kind of you. :)