Cascadia Poetry Festival 9
Client: Paul E. Nelson, Cascadia Poetics LAB
Timeline: Cascadia Poetry Festival 9: March - August 2025 (ongoing project January 2023-August 2025)
Format: 11 x 17 poster, web banners, event logo, bookmarks, tickets, web banners, event websites, social media assets.
Overview: I led the multi-year visual branding for the Cascadia Poetry Festival, developing a flexible system that supports evolving annual themes while maintaining clear recognition year to year.
Design Approach: Each festival year introduces a distinct color palette and visual emphasis while retaining shared typographic and illustrative elements drawn from Cascadia Poetics LAB’s broader identity.
Cascadia Poetry Festival 7 (2023) established the rebrand, laying the foundation for consistent visual elements across future festivals
Cascadia Poetry Festival 8 (2024) Developed a cohesive branding strategy spanning web, email, print, and social media. Integrated the theme of Cascadian Zen, Volume 2, drawing from artist Morris Graves’ color palette and incorporating motifs from the prior year’s logo for continuity.
Cascadia Poetry Festival 9 (2025) Maintained brand recognition while introducing a refreshed color scheme and adapting elements from the previous year’s logo to differentiate the annual theme.
Cascadia Poetry Festival 10 (2026) Marked the tenth anniversary of the festival with a visually grounded, landscape-driven poster emphasizing place, continuity, and scale. The design centers on a layered Cascadian silhouette and horizon forms, using a restrained, weathered palette and bold typographic hierarchy to convey longevity and regional identity. The composition balances celebratory presence with durability, reinforcing the festival’s bioregional roots while clearly signaling a milestone year.
The posters balance dense program information with clarity and rhythm, ensuring legibility at a distance while conveying the festival’s cultural scope.
Additional Collateral: Event logos, bookmarks, tickets, web banners, event websites, social media assets.