Petworth PorchFest
Brand & Event Materials
Photo by Nick Moreland
Petworth PorchFest holds a special place in my heart—live music and my local community—two of my loves. It’s a ton of work each year but it’s worth it! It’s one of my favorite days of the year and gives me so much Petworth pride.
It’s the largest PorchFest in DC and one of the largest music activations in the city. In 2023 there were nearly 200 bands scheduled to perform on over 80 porches in a 1.5 mile radius of the Petworth neighborhood. An estimated 10,000 people attended the four-hour event.
This event was born in spring 2021 when we were all just coming out of the dark days of the pandemic and this outdoor event was such a ray of light. I partnered with the talented Maria Mandle of Chica Creative to design the brand for the event, along with the first year event designs to reflect a sense of renewal, community, and radiating joy.
Each year we build on that same energy while keeping things fresh. Collaborating with Chica Creative is always such a fun process, bouncing ideas and literally creating things together, which leads to products that I adore. After three years of holding the event, we now have an array of designs and communication materials that have helped spread the word—posters, yard signs, social media, event banners, sponsorship flyers, and a website.
Posters hang in local business’s windows to promote the event and yard signs notify neighbors where bands will be playing during the event.
After the bands and hosts are matched, we design a user-friendly version of the schedule and a map to help people navigate the event. Each location is given a unique number connecting the schedule and map so people can plan their route. Using Google Sheets for the schedule and Google My Maps for the map have worked well to date as they allow easy collaborative changes that the public can view in real time.
This event brings so much fun and joy to the city and it’s awesome being part of making that happen. So many incredible musicians perform and people really come out!
Photo by Nick Moreland
Photo by Nick Moreland
Role
Graphic designer (collaboration) and planning committee member.
Developed brand and first year event graphics
Designed materials (posters, yard signs, banners, social media graphics, sponsorship flyers, and graphics for website) aligned with brand for multiple years
Created event map and designed event schedule
Programs Used
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Google Sheets
Google My Maps
Client
Petworth PorchFest Planning Committee