words and images by Becca Allen

I was recently asked to contribute to ‘Rap Graphics’, an art exhibition being held in London in May. The brief was to design a type based poster based on hip hop music and rap as a form of poetry. I am not really one for hip hop but when I read the selected lyric excerpts from well known rap and hiphop artists I was so surprised at how, when taken out of context, and read without base thumping to every other syllable, it really is beautiful poetry.

I selected lyrics from the Task Force song ‘Butterfly Concerto’ and designed a poster with illustrated seagulls and caterpillars with a customised typeface to create the mood for these lyrics. I tried a few variations, but in the end I decided on the monochrome route.

Unfortunately I was shooting our SS14 catalogue in France while this exhibition was on so I couldn’t make it but I heard from friends it was a great opening night with music, beers, artwork and good company.

I love doing small projects like this that enable me to step outside of my usual work duties, but are manageable enough to work in the evenings. You can see and buy the limited edition prints from the exhibition here.