Each spring, we at Ligature Creative get a sneak preview of the coming DPO season in order to create the key artwork you see on the website and social media, as well as in print on posters and program covers. Working within the theme of the concert, we build images that help tell the concert’s story in DPO’s bold and contemporary brand.
We start with conversations with Music Director Lawrence Golan and begin our own historical research to understand the context of each concert. With classical playlists streaming in our studio, we craft lists of possible options for each concert’s key art.
For the upcoming Victory concert on May 19, the Napoleonic empire is certainly the through line connecting all four pieces on the program. However, most of the music is in celebration of his defeat — the emperor is not this evening’s hero.
So if not depictions of Napoleon, then what should the concert image be? Soldiers? Cannons? Fireworks?
Our research on Beethoven’s Wellington’s Victory led us to discover a memorial to Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington — the very Wellington who led troops to victory in Spain against Napoleon’s army. The London monument features a statue of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan war.
To match the season art style, we colorized the image and illustrated an artillery-shell firework explosion to add energy and excitement to the statue frozen in time.
Since leading a rebrand of the orchestra in 2013, we’re proud to be continued sponsors of the Denver Philharmonic and of this season’s finale, Victory. Enjoy the concert, and keep an eye out in the coming weeks for the release of the 2019–2020 Season artwork!
Ligature Creative designs brands, publications, key art, interfaces and experiences for people and organizations that do good work. We focus on areas of education, arts & culture, community and health & recreation. Connect at ligcreative.com.
