When LA-based production studio Nihil Declarandum teamed up with the historic Bob Baker Marionette Theater for a variety show, they needed a suite of promotional materials as playful and expressive as their up-and-coming performers.

Nihil and Bob Baker had distinct visual styles that were a match made in marionette heaven. I borrowed stylistic elements from the production company’s risograph-esque logo and the theater’s vintage identity to create a reimagined vaudevillian flair.

A typeface is makeup for words, and in theater makeup is everything. To welcome theater kids from coast to coast I chose typography that was as reflective of art-deco New York as golden age Hollywood. The two brands’ shared red, blue, and black hues overlapped perfectly, and inspired the vintage dual-channel print aesthetic.

No production is complete without an A-list cast, and no brand is complete without a mascot. To expand the event’s identity the signature self-drumming marionette from Bob Baker and Nihil’s own stop motion heroine, Little Mata, were recast in a nostalgic halftone style.

Marionettes aside, the event also featured the premiere of several short films - among them Nihil’s very own stop motion horror flick Everybody Goes To the Hospital. To showcase the brand’s identity (and fit all the names on one page) the poster combined type-heavy designs of mid-century concert posters and classic big-city flyposting aesthetic.

The promotional suite was completed with a carousel of specially created Instagram graphics to build theatrical anticipation ahead of the event. Like ❤︎