Created in collaboration with Megan Fulton and Izabela Gilhooley while working at Design Streak Studio, this poster was created to promote an Indian cultural festival held by Illinois State University’s Office of International Engagement. Through research and an understanding of the speakers’ topics, we learned about the different methods of creating textiles, such as print embroidery and traditional block printing. Since this was an event that connected multiple different parts of Indian culture, we highlighted that connection through the needle and thread becoming a weaving line, a popular Indian motif. Other inclusions, such as the patterned depictions of the cotton plant and emergence of the lotus at the bottom, point back to these materials’ origins and their growth over time.  

Created by the Indian Type Foundry, the typefaces Telma and Clash Grotesk become intertwined with and dance around these designs, further promoting our focus on handmade work and the festival’s displays. The hand itself additionally emphasizes these activities, highlighting the event’s henna application through prominent white strokes that dually reference cultural jewelry, fashion, and Rangoli patterns. The vibrant shades of yellow and red symbolize gold and the bold flavors found in Indian cuisine, including turmeric and saffron, while the background texture provides a cultural connection to knowledge through the inclusion of traditional vines and scanned peacock feathers.