Poster Poster

Thanks to Poster Poster for featuring the ReImagine poster I created for the Americas Latino Eco Festival on Poster Monday yesterday. Fresh type design by Lulubi Garcia. Seemed like a good time to look back at some of the other posters I've created over the years for a variety of organizations, political and social causes. The idea is the important thing when coming up with a poster. I start by thinking about the audience and how to communicate a message with impact.

Americas Latino Eco Festival Series

When working on a series like the Americas Latino Eco Festival I wanted to find a fresh approach as so many concepts had already been tried. Although I observe trends my goal with these posters was to search for simple, concise ideas that would send a message.

THE IDEA COUNTS
I start with lots of words and thumbnail drawings to get the ideas flowing. The five Rs of conservation are reduce, reuse, recycle, restore and replenish. I played off this mantra by adding to that list with reflect, re-flourish, reawaken and re-imagine.

GET CONSISTENT
Once I had these themes I was challenged to unite the poster series yet keep each individual poster compelling. I decided to design a background element and leaf/teardrop shape that is a repeating element used in different ways. You can find it in the bird wings, flower petals, tears and leaves. Then I consistently implemented textures I had photographed in my hometown of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico to add emotion to the posters. The deconstructed type designed by Lulubi Garcia is also a unifying element. 

COLOR AND TEXTURE
The posters below became official campaign posters of the 2008 and 2012 campaigns targeting Latino voters. I employed textural affects and motifs this demographic would connect to. Latinos have no chromphobia so my approach to color was to interpret the vision and determination of the President in vibrant hues they would relate to. I spend long hours developing painting techniques and photographing textures that I can add digitally to my compositions.

2008 Obama Election Campaign

2012 Obama Re-election Campaign

One World, Many Stories Reading Program for Kids

National Book Festival Poster

San Miguel de Allende Chamber Music Festival

Southern California Fire Relief

Bird Day Illustration for a poster. Type design by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Gil and Lobo Concert Poster

Gator by the Bay

Read Across America Poster Illustration. Type by CTA.

Latino Film Festival Poster

Librarians take over Vegas!

!Viva Las Vegas and Books!

I've always been drawn to unusual juxtapositions and this past weekend 13,000 librarians, authors, illustrators, publishers, agents, teachers and book fans descended on Vegas for the ALA Convention.
Here's some photos to document the weekend.

At the 2014 American Library Association Conference I enjoyed the opportunity to connect with old and new friends, sign books and bring home a Pura Belpré honor for illustration of Tito Puente Mambo King, El Rey del Mambo.

Two exceptional women -Literary Agent Stefanie Von Borstel  and HarperCollins Senior Editor Rosemary Brosnan

I'm so grateful to the well organized, enthusiastic team at of our publisher Rayo, an imprint of HarperCollins who artfully arranged every detail at the conference and made this book happen. Gracias Rosemary Brosnan, Patty Rosati and all of the dedicated individuals who crafted an unforgettable celebration. 

Friends at the Pura Belpré Party the night before

Pura Belpré honoree, extraordinary author Margarita Engle

Grateful to attend the Pura Belpré celebration with my amazing literary agent Stefanie Von Borstel of Full Circle Literary. Thanks to author Monica Brown and agent Adriana Dominguez who were there with us in spirit.

"In this vibrant, bilingual portrayal of Tito Puente, the King of Mambo, Rafael López conveys the rhythm and movement of this musical legend through the use of bold colors, swirly lines, and carefully placed word art".

Lastly to the Association for Library Service to Children/American Library Association's Pura Belpré Committee for their kind words and for recognizing this book I painted to pay tribute to a legendary musician.

New Posters for Americas Latino Eco Festival

I was asked to conceptualize and design this series of four posters for the Americas Latino Eco Festival September 11-15, 2014 in Boulder Colorado. I teamed up with a talented young Latina designer and 2014 graphic design graduate of San Diego City College Lulubi Garcia who crafted the fresh type. Looking forward to painting a mural with young people to further the vision of this organization. ALEF is an environmental campaign of Americas for Conservation + the Arts  to strengthen the voice of the Latino community on issues relating to climate change and environmental justice.

New Paintings on their way to Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital

I've just completed three 30 by 40 inch paintings for Yale-New Haven Hospital. This facility for children gives as much attention to a child's emotional needs as they do for caring for their illness. Kids are nurtured in a place designed especially to care for them in a unique way. U.S. News called it one of the best children's hospitals and they specialize in hard to treat cancers and metabolic disorders. When infants and children have severe diseases they often don't respond to conventional therapies so they use specialized techniques to support them.

Visit with Frida

My son Santiago had one request for his birthday. A visit to Frida's blue house in Coyoacán. We stayed in Roma, ate pastries, drank coffee and Mexican hot chocolate.