Talent Showcase at TOPS
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
MCD creates pro-bono projects for selected projects and organizations and one of my favorites is TOPS at Seward, a Seattle Public School. This spring, I was invited to create a poster for the TOPS Talent Showcase.
The Talent Showcase is a low-key opportunity for students to show their stuff in front of their classmates, friends, parents and family members. Over the years, we’ve been entertained by musicians, singers and actors, along with more unique acts: joke tellers, magicians, circus acts and unicycle riders. It’s fun, sweet and totally home grown.
The crowd fills the folding chairs and the house lights in the school gym are dimmed. A parent MC steps on stage to welcome the crowd and start the show. Parents get a quick photo as kids go on stage with confidence or reluctance. Watching the whole scene, I always feel like I’m in a small town, not bustling Seattle.
I have a long history with TOPS, starting as an Artist In Residence for the Seattle Public Schools and the Washington State Arts Commission – my first job after moving to Seattle. As a parent, my role has evolved into volunteering design, strategy, and art direction for events and communications pieces when invited.
Our goal with these projects is to reach kids and parents and move them to action. We develop a strong concept to grab attention, and to cut thru the explosion of images, colors, and messages of daily life. Gee, sounds like what we do for our other clients.
A selection of past posters is below. As designer, I’ve happily included family members in the projects: Conor is ‘showing off’ his artwork in one poster and Kevin’s frog pastel took center stage in another. And this year, my client was the organizer of the Showcase, Chris – my wife.
