CLIENT PROFILE: Pinky Swear Productions, "Be Here Now"

Pinky Swear Productions in Washington DC turned to Kartouche when their usual designer became unavailable about a week before the Capital Fringe Festival's deadline for promotional material: a 40-word blurb, a 10-word teaser, and an image for the festival website, printed guide, and PR (newspapers and magazines).

Here's the thing: We want something that has a little of the sentimentality inherent in the play but with some edge so it doesn't sound like a cheesy family drama — which it's not. It's got a wonderful modern feel to it that I don't want to lose in the copy.

Fringe audiences tend to be urban, female, and youngish. Edgy is ok. Eye-catching is the goal.

Since the show hadn't even been cast and there was no set built, actual production photos weren't an option. After reading the play and talking with the director and producers, I put together a few collages of imagery using stock photos as a starting point.

From those, discussions led to a single image of spinning poi, since one of the characters learns to do this, and because it conceptually reflected themes and storylines from the play. (And the bright swirls of fire were definitely attention-grabbing.) I edited the selected stock photo to give balance and focus, then formatted and sized appropriately for the specified uses.

That image provided a visual anchor for the verbal descriptions:

Wherever you go, there you are. The intertwining lives of three sisters, running from themselves and each other, come full circle in this contemporary tale of life, love, loss, sibling rivalry, risk and getting burned — or not.

Three sisters learn that wherever you go, there you are.

And Pinky Swear met its deadline.

Later, we created additional collateral building on these core elements. Consistent typefaces and color palette extended the branding and enhanced recognition among the pieces:

A banner ad for the Fringe Festival website (actual size).

Print ads for the festival guide (1/2 page) and a special section in a local newspaper.

An 11x17 poster.

A 4x6 postcard flyer.

Finally, we designed the program. (Click to view PDF.)