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Learn moreA designer attended brunch at a jazz club and decided to create a unique collaboration. He assembled a jazz band of poster artists and developed a modular visual style. This project was implemented pro bono, highlighting the importance of collaboration in the creative industries.
Jazz Club
"Esse" is a popular music club located in the center of Moscow. For over ten years, it has been performing classical and contemporary jazz, ethno-jazz, blues, soul, and funk daily. This club occupies an important place in the cultural life of the capital, serving as a platform for musicians and connoisseurs of jazz music, as well as for those just beginning to get acquainted with this style. Esse regularly hosts lectures, concerts, educational events, and master classes that promote the development of musical culture and help deepen knowledge of jazz.
I am a multidisciplinary designer, artist, and art director who also curates educational programs for children at DesignWorkout®. With a wide range of skills, I create unique and inspiring projects that help develop children's creativity. My background in design and art allows me to develop interactive and engaging programs that promote learning and skill development in young participants.
Two years ago, I attended Peter Vostokov's jazz brunch at the Esse club. It is a free concert program held during lunch. That time, I was attracted by the new wall in the club, which housed picturesque portraits of musicians, executed in oil and acrylic in an expressive style.
In the annotations, I learned about the artist Ignat Kravtsov and received contact information where I could contact him to discuss his work. I had an idea that the club might be interested in collaborating in the field of art and design. Collaborations with talented artists like Ignat Kravtsov could enrich the club's cultural program and attract a new audience interested in contemporary art.
Posters
Lesha Pushkarev shared information about himself and the collaboration between designers from SMRG, which he was actively developing. He presented poster exhibitions and his own works and offered to hold a conversation. As a result of this conversation, he met Anna Rogava, the club's artistic director.
Anna has long dreamed of working in design, as jazz and poster graphics have long been closely intertwined in Europe. This connection between musical art and visual culture inspires many artists and designers. Jazz aesthetics, imbued with dynamics and emotionality, are reflected in bright and expressive posters, which create unique and memorable images.
The pilot collaboration with Esse was a poster exhibition dedicated to Jazz Day. This exhibition drew attention to jazz culture and became a significant event in the art world.
The club organized the New Era of Jazz festival, where eight young musical groups presented their experimental works. Inspired by the festival atmosphere, eight SMRG designers teamed up to create a jazz band in the world of typography. Each designer developed a unique typographic layer, which was then combined into coherent compositions. The result was original posters, each of which reflects the individuality and style of the corresponding musical group.
Language
The next stage of the work was the development of a new visual style for the club's communications. This style will help improve interaction with the audience and increase brand awareness. We strive to create a unified and attractive visual image that will reflect the club's values and attract new members. The new design includes updated graphic elements, fonts, and color palette, making all communications more modern and memorable.
Esse designer Alisa Isaykina began updating the club's visual style, which had remained unchanged for a long time. Over the years, not only the content and audience have changed, but also Moscow's visual culture as a whole. Lesha Pushkarev was invited to join Alisa to collaborate on this task.
I have a project called "StormClass," which is an effective solution for designers facing a creative crisis. We get together and in a short period of time, just one or two hours, generate several creative ideas for a specific task. I invited Alisa to participate in this format and try it out.
Club communications play a key role in informing visitors about upcoming concerts and events. Posters and announcements are placed in printed form in lightboxes on the club's façade, and they are also available digitally on the official website. This helps attract visitors' attention and ensure maximum awareness of events taking place at the club. Regularly updating information on the website and in lightboxes helps build an active audience and increase event attendance.
The world of performance is full of artists with diverse personalities and styles, making it important to create a user-friendly communication language. Posters, cards, and banners should be quickly and easily updated, while the unifying graphics should adapt to a variety of content. This should not hinder musicians' ability to express their individuality, as visual materials and photographs are often provided by the performers themselves. This approach allows us to preserve the uniqueness of each artist and effectively attract the public's attention.
No research was conducted for this project. After the first meeting with Anna and Alisa, where we discussed not only the graphic language but also potential collaborations, I returned home full of inspiration. In a semi-meditative state while driving, a solution occurred to me. I quickly sketched out a concept that evening, and it was approved almost immediately. We immediately began development and implementation.
The primary method is a variable layout system. It allows visual content to be adapted to various formats and purposes, including both image-based and informational ones. This approach allows for effective design management and improves user experience, which is especially important for SEO optimization and increasing website visibility in search engines.
Square
With content constantly changing, a key aspect of branding is defining a guiding principle that unites the diverse images, texts, and graphic design elements. This will help create a unified visual and semantic identity that will be perceived as holistic and consistent, regardless of changes. A strong brand should have a clear direction that will serve as the basis for all communications and materials, ensuring harmony between the various content elements.
In the visual language of "Essay," the central element is the logo—a key brand attribute that is always in focus. It symbolizes the venue and the club itself, serving as its distinctive mark. The logo remains unchanged, while all events and activities at the club are experimental, constantly changing and evolving.
Jazz music is often perceived as pure improvisation, but it is based on a clear structure known as the jazz square. The jazz square is a chord cycle that completely encompasses a musical theme, providing a harmonic foundation for improvisation. This structure allows musicians to freely express their ideas while remaining within the overall musical form.
The square is a dynamic graphic element of the system that adapts depending on the volume of content and the objectives. It can be used as a visual image or announcement. This system has the ability to shrink back to the minimum size, right down to the logo. This approach provides flexibility in visual presentation and allows for the effective transmission of information.
The resizing and layout of the form are carried out according to a clear grid, which helps balance the graphic tonality of the content. This approach allows you to structure the poster design, ensuring its harmony and preventing chaos in the visual design. A strict grid helps create a consistent and professional look, which is especially important for attracting the audience's attention and effectively conveying information.
We developed a simple modular grid based on the square logo, dividing the content into two levels: image (sound) and information. The first level, representing musical events, fills the entire space of the club layout. The information layer is superimposed on top, functioning as a dynamic sticker that changes depending on the type of layout and its functional tasks. This principle reflects the concept of the club with its laconic architecture, venue, and stage, where each performance is unique and varied.
Font
Lesha and Alisa decided to update their corporate typography and logo by choosing a modern grotesque font. This change will help them improve brand perception and make it more relevant in the eyes of the target audience. Updating the visual identity will attract the attention of new clients and emphasize individuality We chose Jeko Typeface, designed by London-based designer Ellen Luff. This sans-serif typeface features a strict structure, where crisp and clear geometric shapes create a visual rhythm, like a musical piece. Jeko Typeface is not only aesthetically pleasing but also user-friendly, as it is variable and supports Cyrillic, making it an ideal choice for a variety of projects.
Listening to jazz is a true pleasure, and creating a living design brings no less pleasure. However, the main difficulty in this project was convincing the need to purchase a font.
Results
The modular style demonstrated a high degree of variability and ease of use.
Designer "Esse" continues to create visual concepts, enjoying the process and integrating content about musicians and bands into its layouts. There's no longer any need to worry about the layout of each poster and adjusting content to graphic elements. This allows them to focus on creative ideas and visual design, making each work unique and engaging for the audience.
Photographs, illustrations, and typography exist as independent elements that interact with one another to form a cohesive visual message. These components don't simply coexist; they overlap, creating unique and expressive concepts. Visual art today is becoming a powerful communication tool, allowing us to convey ideas and emotions through a harmonious combination of various graphic elements.
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