My boss, Christina, recently announced that she was leaving the company. It was very sad news, as we all absolutely loved her. Since we are a team of creatives, and we were all really close to our boss, I thought we should make her a super special gift. Christina also happened to be an incredible library of analogies. The idea came easily. I proposed making a screen printed analogy poster to the team, and the decision was made. I am always looking for an excuse to do some screen printing!
We came together to compile a list of some of our favourite Christina analogies. Vivien (the other designer) and I worked together to create the poster — selecting the gradient colours, paper, font and typographic arrangement. I went to purchase a larger screen, so I could comfortably make an 11x17" (or larger) print. I had a clear idea of what I wanted and Vivien is an illustrator wiz. We experimented with the colour order in illustrator to get an idea of which sequence would look best for printing. I knew with my small squeegee on a big screen, it would be a wilder outcome than the on-screen rendition. This must be why I also have a penchant for film photography – the unpredictability of outcome.
The next day we took the screen in to be exposed, ready for printing the following day.
There was a very small window of time to complete our secret project, but we did it! We really came together as a team to make it happen. Although now I notice there are some kerning errors, which were overlooked as we rushed to get everything done.
I'm very happy with the outcome (despite the kerning mistakes) and I think she liked her gift very much (hard to tell as she was laughing like crazy upon unwrapping it). Having our own print will be a great way to keep Christina's legacy alive in the office. We really miss her.
I apologize for not photographing the final piece in the frame, but I have some photos of a few posters (they weren't all winners though). It's certainly not easy printing on your kitchen table. Still fun!
I look forward to doing more printing and using up the 'slop bucket' of left over colours.
Photos of the process below:
Funny how the first print is always the clear winner (below)
