It’s been nearly two years in the making, but the Krung Fu Live Design Tournament finally reached its climactic ending on Friday, October 28, 2011 – Dennis “The Minimalist” Eusebio vs. Varick “The Drunken Masker” Rosete in a highly anticipated battle for supremacy! Cheered on by fellow creatives and surrounded by the inspirational design at the nestliving dojo, these two combatants showed again why AIGA Jacksonville continues to make its mark on both a local and national level. The entertaining commentary of Levi Knievel and Das Crobar flowed in the background as Varick and Dennis mixed the time-tested factors of pre-determined Krung Stock images, fonts, a 45-minute time limit and, of course, beer to weave yet another dose of artistic magic.
The theme: Halloween. More specifically, a Halloween-flavored flyer. And while Varick and Dennis usually seem to share the same mind when they work together, their individual styles began to show as the battle commenced.
Dennis went straight for the jugular as he composed a strong and vividly colored flyer, utilizing the technique he used to dispose of Stephanie Soden in the semi-finals; however, Dennis still managed to maintain his minimalist reputation as he seemingly made one image – the black cat – the main crux of his flyer. Dennis’ effective use of the Invert feature gave the image – and the flyer itself – even more ferocity.
Varick countered with his more subtle approach, keeping his flyer darker and more ominous. Instead of utilizing filters, Varick used the images in their element to build the design. His expert use of masks, resizing and juxtaposition let the images themselves paint an even larger picture (see: jack-o-lantern face) to create a creepy, almost movie poster-like, look to the flyer, even down to the positioning of the type.
And in a sort of majestic homage to battles past (looking at you, Karen Kurycki), animation made its return to the battle, as both competitors utilized the feature to add emphasis to their already effective work.
In the end, subtlety emerged victorious as Varick’s flyers seemed to ring truer to the Halloween spirit – a darker, creepier feel that very well speaks to the horror fan in all of us.
And with that ends what amounted to an amazing tournament featuring some of the best creative minds in Jacksonville. So where do we go from here? Perhaps an invitation to battle against other AIGA chapters? Or maybe even a Round 2 featuring the next up-and-coming generation of local creatives? Regardless, if you think you’ve got what it takes and you want to compete in the next tournament, email hello@aigajacksonville.org and let us know!
~ Kenneth, AIGA Jacksonville Fan
(photos by Stephanie Soden)
