Flyer and poster work

I met with Oz again yesterday to go over the latest work I'd done on flyer and poster ideas. He had originally wanted to go with Edwardian and Victorian imagery which I have tried out in the flyer design posted below, but was really excited by another design I put together inspired by the covers of 1940s and 50s smutty magazine EYEFUL. Here's a picture of an EYEFUL cover for reference:



He's decided he'd like to use the EYEFUL style layout as a poster for the club, and the other design as a flyer.

Below are the work in progress versions of the two layouts:





The flyer incorporates an image of Edwardian actress Gabrielle Ray posing with a bull whip. Oz had said that he wanted to find imagery that would remind people of the darker, naughtier side of the 'olden days' and we both agreed that this image worked very well. I now need to find (or probably buy) a good high res version of it.
Edwardian and Victorian imagery has been used a lot in burlesque club graphics but we came up with the idea of combining it with fluoro colours and punkish ransom note style 'cut-out' text along the lines of the Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks cover to create a completely different feel. I have never seen this combination used before in the context of burlesque and cabaret promotion design (fluoro colours are almost completely absent in this genre!) so hopefully these layouts will be intriguing and compelling to prospective customers. Ideally we would like to find more images of this feel that could be used to make a series of flyers, perhaps each using a different fluoro colour for the text and logo.

Both layouts feature new versions of the logo I've been working on, injected with some bright colours to complement the designs.
We decided that logo didn't need to have a fixed colour and could instead be adapted to work with any colour scheme. Here are a few examples:



Oz is also interested in possibly collaborating with Tank, ID or Love magazine (all of which he has contacts with) to organise a photo shoot in the style of EYEFUL using the performers appearing at Theatre of the Divine as models. The images would be shot in black and white and hand coloured to create an authentic vintage look.

Date and Venue Change!!

Oz has been having a lot of problems with the owner of the 20th Century Theatre and has come to the conclusion that it will be best to go with a different venue.
I suggested that he might try Bush Hall (another old music hall with a period feel to the interior, similar to the 20th Century but more opulent!) in Shepherd's Bush, and Oz had just informed me that we now have a booking there for the 6th of June!
This is great news because now we have a lot more time to work on promotion for the club and the sign manufacture won't be rushed either.
Here are a couple of images of the interior at Bush Hall:

Logo designs

I've been working on a black and white logo for the club based on the sign design posted earlier. I'll be making a colour version too but the black and white one could be used for making the rubber stamp and wax seal that we were discussing earlier. Here's an image of a few variants of the logo that I've put together:

Promotion...

Oz and I discussed various ideas for promoting Theatre of the Divine yesterday... He has access to a 1950s open top Cadillac style car and suggested driving a couple of glamorous girls dressed up in burlesque cabaret costumes down Portobello Road and/or Camden High Street on the weekend before the opening night, handing out flyers and sprinking ticker tape...
I suggested getting some custom printed comdoms made with the Divine logo, date of the club and address of the theatre which we could hand out too, and Oz was very keen on the idea!

Britishcondoms.co.uk can custom print condoms... I'll forward the link to Oz and see what he thinks!



An American company can even make custom printed condom lolipops for you!
Maybe that'd be a little bit too rude...

Second meeting with club organiser

I met with Oz Best, the club organiser yesterday, and showed him my design for the sign. He seems to really really like it, which is great! So much so, in fact that he now wants me to pretty much take over designing flyers and invitations for the club. He's had a few ideas already which he showed me but doesn't know how to use Photoshop or any of the design programs so I'm going to help recreate some of his ideas and also integrate a logo based on the sacred heart sign which I'm currently working on. The logo could also be made into a rubber stamp and/or wax seal used to customise invitations.

Oz has also told me that due to some over-booking at the theatre our opening night (currently booked for the 4th of May) might have to be postponed to late May or early June - this would suit me very well as it would allow more time to ensure that the sign is manufactured perfectly and to work on the other promotional designs for the club. He's going to let me know what's been decided as soon as he can.
Just to be on the safe side I have told Imageworx that I need the sign to be finished by the 1st of May so that if the opening night date doesn't change I'll still have it ready. Luckily they don't seem to think this would be a problem even after I explained in a lot of demanding detail exactly what I want - even if I do have to have it ready for the 4th of May it seems I won't have to compromise on the finish and full function of the sign, which is good to know.

SIGN...

I have created a rough diagram and technical spec in Illustrator which I emailed to two sign workshops over the weekend.



I got a call back from Imageworx yesterday and had a long conversation with a very helpful guy there called James Teague about various different ways that the effect I want could be achieved and a rough breakdown of the cost of the various elements of the sign. James was confident that the sign could be made to my specifications (including three separate circuits of complex sequenced flashing of bulbs and neon tubes controlled by chaser units!) in only a month, which was encouraging.

FMP continues...

I have met with the organiser of The Theatre of the Divine and discussed the project. He's very keen on my idea and has shown me the stage space at the 20th Century Theatre in Portobello where the event will be held. I've taken some measurements and photos to refer to when finalising my designs. Below are two images of the stage and audience space. The stage steps are moveable and can be configured in different arrangements.