“Both Sides Now”

Layout and Typography

In being challenged to produce an event poster under the challenge of relying on text. I needed to create and reflect the emotion and context of a specific song by an artist who would hypothetically be performing on my university’s campus. I was assigned “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell. The bittersweet tone within the song was very inspiring! As nice as this was what I wanted to accomplish was creating a visual communication of the emotional reflection expressed by Mitchell’s life experiences without images. How can text become the graphic that evokes emotion just as- if not, better- than a image?

In addition to digitally creating this project, I took it a step further and ensured my design displayed well after print production. This informed design decisions when maneuvering challenges like text legibility and proportioning.

“How can text become the graphic that evokes emotion just as- if not, better- than a image?“

Problem Statement

Visual Concept

Before designing, it was vital for me to have a deep understanding of the meaning of the song both literally and figuratively. I took a deep dive into the making of the song and learned how much of Mitchell’s life events formed the making of this song

Another important aspect of this song is noting the context in which it was made in. Released in 1969, the song was made in a time with a strong stylistic presence that I wanted to translate into my design. Understanding this and being aware of Mitchell’s own sense of style, I kept my design in stylistic alignment to these ideals rather than a hyper-inventive design.