“I hope that people grin from ear to ear when they see the posters," says Lisa Sportel, smiling herself. “And that they are proud that a big event like Eurosonic Noorderslag is in Groningen," adds Margreet Kievit.
Eurosonic Noorderslag has been around for thirty years and has grown enormously since its early years. Nowadays the event is hard to miss in the city, if only through its eye-catching posters. These have been designed since 2002 by Rocket Industries, the design studio of designers Sportel, Kievit and Erik Woltermann.
ART
“They’re still music posters," says Kievit. “We look for the right vibe to go with the genre. We want some of the content to shine through.” Of course, they have to use the client’s preferences. “But within the functional limitations there is still a lot of freedom to be innovative,” Sportel assures us. She beams when she says, "I definitely think posters can be art."
The client comes with a certain question, and that question changes over time. The history of thirty years of Eurosonic Noorderslag is hidden in the posters, only to be seen if you know what to look for.
“Four years ago the organisation wanted to make the image of the festival more ‘rock and roll’. It had to be edgier," says Kievit. That year's poster shows a man hunched over his electric guitar, a silhouette among the bright lights. The following year, the word ‘platform’ had to appear in all advertisements, because the organisation wanted to emphasise that aspect. The design was a little sleeker again.
GROWTH
Last year the studio designed a completely new corporate identity. The festival has grown and consists of many different parts. All these components (such as the conference or Eurosonic Air) now fit into the same design. Posters, flyers and the website grow along with the festival and let the public know that this event is now a household name.
In the early years the posters might have had to explain the festival to the public, but now everyone knows Eurosonic Noorderslag. Sportel: “Posters are wallpaper in the city.” They are the decorations that let Groningen know that Eurosonic Noorderslag is coming back again soon.
ENGAGING
The design of a poster is very different from, for example, a flyer. You have to be able to read a poster from a distance, see it in the dark and understand the message. “It's important to think about the environment,” says Sportel. After all, you have to be able to hang a poster anywhere. “In a tunnel, in the middle of the city, between all kinds of other posters: ours has to stand out.”
That's one of the reasons why the designers prefer to use quotes rather than photos. Kievit: “Many events have a photo of a band or a dancing audience on its announcements. That's what people expect: your gaze doesn't linger on it." That's why this year Rocket Industries is using short, thought-provoking quotes that jump out at you from the wall: IT'S ALSO A FUCKIN' COOL TOWN in glowing white and glowing orange on a black background.
“Nowadays you see a lot of posters that are self-made,” sighs Kievit. "That almost hurts me to see; there is so little feeling in it. People do cut back on posters, but they don't realise that nice posters give the city a friendly air. Posters are the poetry of the city.”