Behind the Scenes with Barbara: Making the Ad Art for ARTSweek and Leaders Night

It’s great when you find an art director/designer/illustrator group all-in-one situation to work on a project — which happened with creating this year's invitation (image above) to the ASI Student Leader Night.

I walked into the ASI Communications office (where 99% of the student government orders its project materials, everything from name tags to 30-foot banners) three weeks before the bash, which would take place at the close of ARTSweek, on Thursday, Nov. 20. And I came in with oozes of newspaper articles, books with marked photos and all the written details to what would belong on the inside of the invitation.

My vision for the invitation's look came from Pop master Andy Warhol's Mick Jagger pastel and acetate collaged silkscreen foil posters, and his Liz Taylor pastel prints (I love!). But when I met with one of the illustrators at ASI Comm., Patrick, he had his own ideas and created a landscape of the University Art Museum à la color-by-numbers — he made the museum into the star. After, another designer stepped in and added color. The results? Pssss... Look above!


After researching the designer's inspiration for the Leaders Night invitation, which was to transform the UAM into a star and create a color-by-numbers landscape, I became a fan.

A full week of arts-related events for ARTSweek passed, then Thursday night finally strolled in for the ASI Student Leader Night, an event created by the previous arts commissioner, Melissa Tanney. A group of about 50 devoured yummy minis from Bouchees Bistro and Silver Ballon cupcakes created especially for this event by Frosted Cupcakey. Apple Computers and the Photo Club entertained guests with taking Polaroid and other Pop-inspired photos in the UAM's Reading Room. Then, we toured the galleries with the direction of the UAM museum director, Chris Scoates, as he ellaborated on Andy Warhol's life as an artist and his art pieces found in "Warhol: 15 min/24 fps."

Let Andy Warhol inspire you, too. "Warhol: 15 min/24 fps" will be at Cal State Long Beach's UAM through Dec. 14.