GRAND PRIZE WINNER:
The Des Moines Playhouse
A bold palette with fun visuals has audiences
applauding this theater’s marketing materials.
Sayles Graphic Design
Creative director: John Sayles
Project manager: Amanda Forsyth
Designers: John Sayles, Jessi O’Brien
Illustrator: John Sayles
Copywriter: Lee Ann Bakros
Client: The Des Moines Playhouse
Contact: www.saylesdesign.com
515.279.2922
Congratulations to Sayles Graphic Design for winning
the Grand Prize—a one-year web-resolution subscription
to Jupiterimagesunlimited.com ($2500 value)—in
the Dynamic Graphics Re:Design contest. Judges for
the event were: Brian Beam, vice president and chief
creative officer, Business Builders (as well as president,
American Marketing Association for Central Illinois);
Ronda Ramsey, art director, ATS; and Michael Ulrich,
art director, STEP inside design magazine.
The Des Moines Playhouse Theater is the oldest
continous-running community theater in the
country. During its nearly 90 years of existence, the
organization typically relied on a variety of designers,
printers and volunteers to develop promotional materials
on a piecemeal basis. In 2005, the theater’s communications
director invited Sayles Graphic Design
to review materials and suggest improvements.
During the initial year of collaboration, Sayles’
main objective was to visually unify all the materials.
“We began with a logo and dynamic color palette,
which included vibrant orange, purple and lime
green,” say the designers at Sayles. “The strategy was
to get people to take notice of the Playhouse—and
with fun, funky graphics and an in-your-face color
combination, it worked.”
The Playhouse lacked a quality bank of photographic
images, so Sayles decided to take an illustrative
approach. John Sayles illustrated a hand with
finger pointing at important information as a main
visual. For the Arts on the Go brochure, Sayles developed
a brochure shaped like a suitcase. Solid backgrounds
were interrupted with stripes to add interest.
The whole approach was one of whimsy and fun.
John Sayles says, “Organizations like the
Playouse are in a very competitive market. Today’s
Americans have limited time to pursue leisure activities,
and as a result, arts and entertainment groups
face competition from a variety of places. From
traditional theater to blockbuster movies, organized
sports, festivals and fairs, the competition for offhours
time and dollars is immense. We sought to create
work that would make the Playhouse rise to the
top of mind with its target audience.”
