Pandemic Concert Posters
It started with empty telephone poles.
Like so many of us over the last fifteen months, I was doing my daily walks and runs in close proximity to my home. We were all nervous about catching a virus or unwittingly already having it and foisting it on someone else. It’s been a terrifying time, in ways both immediate and existential.
On those masked walks and runs, though, I started noticing the empty poles. Living in a vibrant city like Portland, I’m used to a telephone pole laden with paper and staples, announcing coming attractions and my next Friday’s plans. But with all of us staying safe at home, there was nothing to announce.
So, we decided to announce ourselves. After all, we’re not here for one night only; we’re a staffing agency that is constantly brimming with jobs. And over the last year, when we had the highest unemployment rate in our nation’s history, we knew we had an import role to play in helping people get back to work.
We worked with Lil Tuffy, a friend of our San Francisco office, to create posters that represented our cities while telling people a little bit about us. Plus, each had a QR code for a viewer to scan and register on our site. And with each poster’s launch came a playlist made by your friendly neighborhood recruiters!
Portland
We started out with two directions, one focused more on what Portland is known for (early aughts alt-rock), and one drawing heavily from the larger Pacific Northwest scenes of grunge and riot grrrl. As you can see, the ‘90s won out.
Austin
Wanting it to reflect our love alt-country and blues, we ended up with something that definitely represents so much of Austin, specifically, and Texas more broadly.
Los Angeles
It was a pretty simple direction, honestly: think Laurel Canyon in the ‘60s. The colors on this one really got us.
San Francisco
More California in the ‘60s: we were looking for folk and psychedelia. Achieved!
We never again want to live through a year without live music. All of us lost something in the past year: beloved people, health, livelihoods, time, stability, and so many other things. We hope these pops of color around our cities at least brought you a smile as we all made our ways through the difficult days.
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