BSO Print Design Hits all the Right Notes!

This afternoon, we decided to catch the BSO performance entitled Robustly Russian. Maestro Marin A. led the orchestra in 3 hours of decidedly beautiful and at times haunting soviet classical music. We got to hear several pieces from Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich.

While the selections were intriguing on their own I was really interested in running an eye over the winter program. My chance came at intermission, and I was not disappointed.

The BSO graphic designer put together an elegant edition of Overture. They presented a sophisticated mix of  three primary typefaces: Baskerville, Helvetica, and Edwardian Script used in accent.

So often we try to stick to a two-font solution when there are more options at our disposal. We can use one (like Arial, which has at least 10 weights or Century, etc.) or three--maybe even *four with plenty of  practice.

The imagery presented was also a healthy mix of squared-off photographs balanced with anthropomorphic vectors used to punctuate ideas; take a quick gander at the cover. The swirls that appear to be coming toward the orchestra over the terrace level seating is a great example. They could be a visual representation of the sound waves working their way through the room.

Excellent job BSO, this Overture goes in my inspiration file.

*it's been done very successfully, check out the book Visible Signs by David Crow.