Annual Frist Gala
The annual Frist Gala is a black-tie social event in Nashville, TN. It is the Frist Art Museum’s largest fundraiser, raising a million dollars each year to support the museum and its mission of bringing art to Middle Tennessee.
The objective of this project was to create marketing materials for this event, including the invitation, RSVP, program, dinner menu, and a takeaway gift for each guest. These materials must be designed around one of the Frist’s past art exhibitions.
Apps used: Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop
Below is how a guest would receive their invitation. Upon opening the box, an accordion-fold invitation would rest on top. As the viewer unfolds the paper, they would be met with details about the event and exhibition. The crease connecting the RSVP slip to the rest of the invitation would be perforated, so the guest could easily tear it away and return their reply to the sender. Below, a vellum photo of Ron Jude’s work rests to separate the invite and takeaway gift, a CD of white noise.
Ron Jude:12 Htz
The exhibition this campaign is based around is 12 Htz, by Ron Jude. You can learn more about this project and view the full body of work here.
Essentially, the work suggests that, just like the sound frequency of 12 Htz, things are happening all around us, even if we can’t perceive them. The work decentralizes the human narrative, putting the focus back on the planet. The photographs are enormous—in both physical size and subject matter. Viewing them can make the viewer feel like a small piece of a much bigger and grander world.
Sketching
Based off of the information above, a couple of ideas persist through this project:
Utilizing a sound wave as a design element. The wave would be used to lead the viewer’s eyes around the pieces and thread everything together conceptually.
Minimal color would be used. Jude’s black-and-white landscapes are the hero of the campaign and needed to stand out.
The material should feel quiet, simple, and open, encapsulating the feeling of Jude’s work.
Accordion-fold invitation.
The CD is a playlist of white noise—like the exhibition’s namesake, it is imperceptible yet all around us.
Sound wave design element.