Postcards from Mapes Creek / Postcards From Here
Client: Paul E. Nelson, Cascadia Poetics LAB, Seattle, WA
Timeline: May-June 2024
Format: 8.5 x 11 poster, postcards, bookmark, web banner
Overview: This project encompassed branding and promotional materials for two closely linked community events: Postcards from Mapes Creek, a poetry reading held beside Mapes Creek, and Postcards from Here, a hands-on postcard-making workshop at Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park. Though distinct in format—one observational, one participatory—the events were conceived as a continuous experience grounded in place, correspondence, and shared authorship.
The design needed to clearly communicate two events while visually tying them together through a common language inspired by the Poetry Postcard Fest and the physical act of sending mail.
Design Approach: The visual system draws directly from the material culture of postcards: stamped typography, uneven ink, airmail markings, and layered ephemera. Rather than functioning as full backdrops, photographs of Mapes Creek and surround natural elements are embedded within postcard frames—treated as images that might have been mailed, handled, and saved.
Event information is organized using roughened rectangular blocks and ribbon-like shapes, which act as visual anchors and pacing devices. These textured forms “chunk” schedules, locations, and descriptions, creating hierarchy while preserving the tactile, collage-based feel of printed correspondence.
Additional collateral: bookmark, postcards, web banners, landing page