Burlesque Show Poster & Visual Identity Commission

I'm launching a new recurring burlesque and variety show in Seattle, and I'm looking for an artist to help develop the poster artwork and visual identity for the show. The show will run every other month, beginning Wednesday, November 4. Because it will be recurring, I'm hoping to create a recognizable visual framework that can evolve with each edition rather than designing a completely unrelated poster every two months. ABOUT THE SHOW The show combines burlesque performance with storytelling. Performers bring an act to the stage, and we also get to hear some of the story behind it: where it came from, why they created it, how it evolved, a ridiculous performance story, why it disappeared for years, or whatever makes that particular act interesting. The tagline is: Come for the strip, stay for the stories. I want the visual identity to capture both sides of that idea: the spectacle and glamour of the performance, but also the intimacy and personality of getting a glimpse behind the curtain. OVERALL LOOK & FEEL I'm drawn to a cheeky adult-cartoon aesthetic with a retro feel, influenced by mid-century advertising, vintage nightlife, old theatrical ephemera, and burlesque history. The personality I'm imagining is: • Campy and playful • Glamorous but not overly polished • Cheeky and sexy without being explicit • Retro without looking like a reproduction of a historical poster • Warm, intimate, and inviting • A little weird • Gender-neutral and inclusive • Distinctive enough to become recognizable as Strip & Tell I'd like to avoid the more common burlesque visual shorthand of a sexy female silhouette, corset, martini glass, etc. as the central identity. The performers in this show will represent different genders, bodies, identities, and performance styles, so I don't want the brand itself to suggest there is one particular way a burlesque performer looks. I also want to avoid anything that feels childish, culturally stereotyped or appropriative, or dependent on copyrighted characters and imagery. THE DRESSING ROOM The central visual concept I'm interested in exploring is a theatrical dressing room and illuminated vanity mirror. The dressing room feels particularly right for this show because the audience is getting access to something they normally don't see. They see the polished act onstage, but then they get some of what usually lives backstage: the history, creative process, mishaps, memories, and personality behind it. I'd love for the illuminated dressing-room mirror to become one of the recurring visual anchors of the show. The basic environment could remain recognizable from poster to poster, while what's happening in and around the mirror changes with each edition's theme. THE MASCOT I'd also love to explore creating a small recurring Strip & Tell mascot: an anthropomorphic vintage microphone. I'm imagining the personality of an old mid-century advertising mascot, expressive and slightly mischievous, but clearly designed for an adult nightlife show rather than looking like a children's cartoon character. The microphone feels especially appropriate because it represents both performance and storytelling. I don't necessarily see the mascot as the star of every poster. I'd rather have them "live" in the dressing room and become a recurring little character that audiences start recognizing. Their role could change with each theme. For a movie-themed show, they might have a clapboard. For horror, they might be hiding under the vanity. For a particularly strange theme, they might simply be staring at whatever is happening with an expression of complete confusion. There's room for a lot of personality and running jokes over time. THE FIRST EDITION The November premiere will be built around nostalgia and returning acts. One of the things that inspired this show was how many fantastic burlesque acts disappear simply because performers move on to newer material. The first show will bring back beloved acts that haven't been seen onstage in over 5 years and give performers an opportunity to tell the stories behind them. I'm currently playing with a theme/title along the lines of: THEY'RE BAAAAACK! With supporting copy such as: A burlesque show celebrating beloved acts and the tales behind them. Visually, that could give us old costume trunks, feathers, rhinestones, old photos, forgotten costume pieces, makeup, jewelry, etc. around the dressing room. I also like the possibility of one or two small handwritten notes or visual jokes incorporated into the environment, such as: "Same legends, new stories." or "Glitter never retires." But I don't want to overload the poster with slogans. The theme illustration and primary information should have room to breathe. HOW THE DESIGN WOULD EVOLVE Future editions will have completely different themes, so flexibility is important. For example: Movies & TV: Same dressing-room world, but the environment might include filmmaking/television references such as a clapboard, film reel, popcorn, director's megaphone, TV remote, etc. The imagery would evoke the theme without relying on copyrighted characters. WTF Is This Act?: The dressing room could become completely bizarre. Inexplicable props, strange things happening in the mirror, and our poor microphone mascot wondering what they've gotten themselves into. Other future themes could include horror, Broadway, sci-fi, fairy tales, decades, monsters and cryptids, cult classics, holidays, and more. The goal is for every poster to feel fresh and specific to that edition while still immediately looking like Strip & Tell. PERFORMER & HOST BILLING One element I'd really like built into the recurring design is a clear marquee-style area for the cast. Something along the lines of: FEATURING Performer Name • Performer Name • Performer Name • Performer Name HOSTED BY Host Name The host is an important part of the format because they will guide the storytelling/interview portion, so I'd like the host to have separate billing from the performers. I'd like this section to prioritize readability. The names will change with every edition and should feel like an intentional part of the design rather than information squeezed into whatever space is left. INFORMATION HIERARCHY I'd ideally like the poster to communicate, in roughly this order: 1. SHOW TITLE (I will send the show title upon contracting an artist) 2. Come for the strip, stay for the stories. 3. The theme/edition title 4. Performer names and host 5. Date and venue 6. Doors/show time, 21+, ticket price and ticket information For the premiere, the basic event information will be: Wednesday, November 4, 2026 Start Time TBD VENUE NAME, Seattle 21+ Exact doors/show time, ticket price, ticket URL, poster dimensions, and any required venue branding are still being finalized. COLOR & TYPOGRAPHY I'm open to your ideas here and would really like the visual identity to reflect your style. I'm currently drawn to deep teal or near-black, cream, warm gold, burgundy, and a bright pink/red accent. Again, I would defer to you on suggestions though. I really like the idea of warmth of illuminated marquee bulbs and the slightly imperfect texture of vintage printed material. For the title, I'm imagining the SHOW TITLE in large, highly readable retro lettering that could eventually function almost like a wordmark, potentially with the ampersand treated as a contrasting element. I'd rather establish a small number of recognizable visual elements than fill every inch of the poster with vintage decoration. REUSABILITY This is the part where I'd especially value your expertise. Because the show runs every other month, I'd love to create a visual system rather than a single poster. Ideally, some elements remain consistent: • Show title/wordmark • Tagline • Dressing-room/mirror concept • Microphone mascot • General typography and color language • Performer/host marquee • Event-information structure Then each edition gets its own theme artwork, props, jokes, theme title, cast, and event details. I'd love to talk about the best way to structure that from an illustration/design standpoint. That might mean creating some reusable assets that I can update myself, having you create the new themed artwork for each edition, or some combination of the two. I definitely don't want to assume I should be modifying your artwork without discussing that with you first. WHAT I'M HOPING TO COMMISSION For the initial project, I'm interested in discussing: • Overall show visual identity • Primary poster design/template • Show wordmark/title treatment • Microphone mascot design • Artwork for the November "They're Baaaaack!" edition • Reusable performer/host marquee and event-information areas • Print-ready poster once venue provides specifications • Social media versions/crops • Reusable logo/mascot assets for social media and the eventual website, if appropriate I'm very open to your recommendations about what should actually be included in the initial commission versus what makes sense to develop later. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the concept, how you might approach the reusable aspect, your availability and timeline, and what you would charge for a project like this. The venue generally likes to begin promoting shows about 60 days out when possible, so they would ideally like to have the first poster fairly soon. That said, we can update them on timing based on your actual availability and what is realistic for the project. I'm excited about giving my show a visual personality that can grow along with the show, and I'd love for the artist involved to have room to bring their own ideas and style to that world.