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FEATURED PROJECT 1
The Central Avenue Jazz Festival celebrates the historic legacy of Central Avenue in South Los Angeles, a hub for African American culture and music since the 1920s. With free, family-friendly festivities, the festival honors jazz legends like Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus, while highlighting new emerging artists continuing the rich tradition of jazz. The event includes multiple stages, engagement pavilions, culinary experiences and cultural exhibits, offering a dynamic experience for attendees.
Although 2025 was my third consecutive year as lead graphic designer for the Central Ave Jazz Fest, it was reallyimportant to get the overall visual style right for the 30th Annual fixture. The community's current ethnic breakdown shows that African Americans and Latinos comprise 90% of the audience, with ages 36-50 making up 35% and ages 51+ at 40%. I wanted the design to be attractive, as well as to reflect and resonate with the people of the community.
Drawing on inspiration from ethnic textile patterns, the first steps were to decide on a color palette, typefaces, and an overall visual style for the event. This needed to be done nearly a year in advance, beginning with a Save-the-Date social media image. Then, in order to procure sponsors, the next task was to create a pitch deck that was attractive and reflected the visual style of the coming event. Designing the deck assets provided an opportunity to develop the aesthetic a bit further.
Save the Date digital flyer
Sponsorship Deck
By spring, the main sponsors are in place, a featured artist has been chosen, and the artwork leveraged into a Festival poster. The artist was tasked with delivering art that complements the visual style already approved by the client. This made for a cohesive aesthetic across all the assets that I needed to create.
Main Festival Poster
Staff/Volunteer T-shirt
Billboard "IRL"
Billboard Design
LA Sentinel Cover
Event Trifold Brochure
La Opinión Half-Page Ad
