Designing PorchRokr

by Michelle DeShon

Photo courtesy of Anita Marron

Get to Know Anita Marron, PorchRokr’s Graphic Designer

Anita Marron is the mastermind behind all of PorchRokr’s graphic design: the logo, the map, brochures, postcards and banners.

Marron enjoys the work she creates for PorchRokr because she has total creative freedom. “I really do love the graphic art side of the festival, from the initial concepts to the final designs,” said Marron. “This is what I want my neighborhood to be like… full of energy, art, music and neighbors that enjoy each other, and care about the place they live. I can’t just wait around for someone to create what I want to have happen, and complain when it doesn’t.”

Marron began volunteering for Highland Square Neighborhood Association (HSNA) in 2009, and by late 2010, she was named President of HSNA. After a friend invited her to a meeting for Art in the Square, she got involved in the art committee. She then got involved with the first PorchRokr festival in spring of 2012. She tries to keep her designs simple yet interesting.

Marron creates a new design to represent the festival each year. The first year, the logo was a simple black cricket on a blue background. This year’s design will be an image featuring white piano keys that double as a fence.

An infographic showing the rotation of the PorchRokr location over the years. This year, it’s back to location #1. Marron says, “we rotate [the location] that way like the neighborhood doesn’t get fatigued… I think it draws people from different sections of the neighborhood to different parts of the neighborhood that they don’t normally travel through.” (Image courtesy of Anita Marron)

Photo courtesy of Kevin Smalley

PorchRokr 2016 Beer Garden to Feature Artwork by Kevin Smalley

When Kevin Smalley was invited to create the design for the glassware for New Belgium Brewing Company’s Beer Garden at PorchRokr 2016, the idea of an “eccentric Beverly Hillbillies type character” popped into his mind.

“I enjoy drawing female characters, and my first vision when asked to create an illustration for the event was an older woman sitting in her rocking chair enjoying some brews and good music with a cat in her lap,” says Smalley. “The vision stuck and for me represents an homage to all the creative and young-at-heart women I have met in my life.”

Illustration by Kevin Smalley

Smalley’s illustration will be featured on approximately 300 growlers and glasses. “This project is unique because it is an illustration that helps brand a music festival on a mass production level,” he says.

Smalley takes pleasure in the process of making art as much as the final product: “Exploring various ideas and techniques enriches my perception and understanding of life.”

Smalley’s work is diverse. “I typically bounce between design, illustration, fine art, digital art and natural art, such as sand sculpting and rock balancing,” he says. “I love working in each one of these mediums and often explore how I can blend them all together.”

Guests at the festival can fill up their jamming granny glass with beers from New Belgium Brewing Company.