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Austin Chronicle Presents: The 41st Annual Austin Music Awards

At the end of 2022 Gonzo Viz was asked by the Austin Chronicle to illustrate the poster for the 2022-23 awards show, to be held February 26 at the Mohawk. In our discussions with the Chronicle Art Director, Zeke Barbaro, he asked if I could deliver the final artwork as a layered document, so that he could use it in other formats for the various media asks around the event. We imagined they may use it in a social post or two, and perhaps for some in-venue touches.

What he ended up doing BLEW OUR MIND! An amazing example of how our work can be used in the context of an event—the Chronicle design team used the art beautifully and comprehensively to create a wonderful, contiguous visual experience form pre-event marketing, in-venue event design and post event follow up and communication.

Ami drew 3 idea sketches for the poster and they ended up choosing the “Grackle Band” concept, with an all Grackle band fronted by a crowd surfing, vans-wearing Grackle singer, playing at the Mohawk. He used the color palette he usually associate dwith the Mohawk (where Ami frequently sketches)—the magenta/violet hues from the stage lights contrasting the earthy tones of the clubs wood and rust colored metal interior, with a touch of gold for good measure. He took the image to final, excited to see it out in the world!!

First we saw the image pop up in social media from the Chronicle, the Mohawk and partner the Sims Foundation—who provide mental health support for Austin musicians and were receiving the proceeds from the show to help fund their ongoing work.

Then the week before the show we were so psyched to see that The Chronicle had used the foreground of our poster illustration as the cover! We loved the way the layout had our crowd surfing Grackle singer rocking the Vans front and center and how well they reconfigured and used our hand drawn type for the title! Definitely started building the buzz!

At the show…

From the moment we walked in the Mohawk we saw our Grackles and hand-type everywhere—well designed to fit contextually throughout the club.

From the badges, to bar menu to the backdrop on the inside interview stage where Kevin Curtin was asking the tough questions….

…to the outdoor screen announcing the band and nominees…

…and maybe most exciting on the awards themselves! Was incredible in the days that followed seeing our grackles on the instagram feeds of all of these amazing Austin musicians and music industry professionals.

The following Thursday we were really psyched to open the next issues of The Chronicle to see the profile of Ami by Katie Karp about his live drawing and Illustration work—from his time sketching straphangers on his daily ride from Brooklyn to Manhattan, to the process of creating the show gig poster.

And they had used our drawing of Austin Punk powerhouse and multiple award winner Die Spitz in the story and our type treatment and colors again on the recap insert in the issue!

To say that this campaign was the highlight of our year so far is a huge understatement. Big ups to Zeke, Katie, Marketing & Engagement Manager Cassie Arredondo, Music Editor Rachel Rascoe, Interviewer-for-the-evening and former Music Editor Kevin Curtin and everyone who made it a wonderfully rewarding experience, we are so glad when our work can have maximum impact to support our client’s campaign and event!

And if you want a copy of the poster (or a tee) they are available for sale from the Chronicle here.