Irene and the Buffalo Boys

Client: BFA Thesis Exhibition

Description: My senior thesis, Irene and the Buffalo Boys, centers around my own fictional country-western swing band, with gig posters, merchandise, and various branded pieces serving as a thematic backbone for what this honk-tonk group could be. As this was to be exhibited in a gallery space, I wanted to create a fun, interactive, and memorable experience that blended bold colors, tasteful typography, fun illustrations, and engaging experiences for the viewer; a culmination of my abilities, my influences, and music that I love.

I kept a small sketchbook dedicated to this project. It was there I did most, if not all of my conceptualizing, from themes and imagery, to the name of the band itself.

Ideation

The meat of my exhibit consisted of gig posters for the band from various dance halls and honky-tonks across the country. It was primarily through these that I was able to showcase and develop a legacy for this fictitious country group.

Posters

I created two vinyl album sleeves and mocked them up physically for the gallery space. I wanted the front and back design and layout to reference the album art of classic country records from the 60’s and 70’s. It was also important to me to incorporate a spine and an RCA logo to make it feel as believable as possible. In the process of making these, I had a lot of fun doing hands on research with numerous old country records.

Irene’s Records

I was really inspired by the personalized fretboards of the guitars of old country singers. Therefore, I wanted to bring that into my exhibit to give Irene more depth. I created a stencil out of vinyl and used sign paint to embellish the fretboard.

Irene’s Guitar

It was important to me for my exhibit to be interactive, and for the viewer to take a piece home with them. I created this smaller poster that listed all of the larger poster’s tour dates. With this, the audience could grab one when entering the exhibit, and then follow along all the posters chronologically. There was also a station at my merch booth that had a signature stamp one could “sign” this poster with, as if Irene herself was signing it!

Free Tour Poster

Every good band has merch, so I wanted to further brand this group by creating items the viewer could purchase, as if they were at a real show. I loved deciding on what would be fun and on-theme to sell. Irene’s merch table in the exhibition was fully outfitted with band tees, screen printed bandanas, koozies, stickers, and more!

A Mighty Fine Merch Booth