Client: Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon

Art director: Tim Engle

Title of Project: 2010 Flying Pig Marathon Winners Poster

Target audience: Marathon runners, families, and residents of the Cincinnati area.

What was the creative challenge? To develop a poster that would be awarded to runners in the marathon. The client wanted something that would capture the fun spirit of the event and become a cherished creative memento of the runner’s experience.

How did you resolve the challenge? There were three requirements—there must be pigs, Cincinnati, and running featured. Anything else was game so long as it fit with the spirit and honored the race. I found myself being drawn to the aesthetic of vintage travel posters and thought it might bring a fun and joyful spirit to place the runners high above the city, floating in hot air balloons with their friendly pig friends floating through the clouds.

What was the artistic style used? I worked with a stylized retro sort of style, using warm colors and playing off their advertising for the 2010 marathon, which was characterized as a ‘60s lava light feel.

Any further details into your creative process you’d like to share? Talking with the team, I started drawing up concepts of the pig and various scenes to place him in; we worked together to figure out which ideas suited the pig’s nature and history and then picked a concept to strengthen and rework. Then a lot of careful detail was placed into the work and colors picked to evoke that warm retro sunset feel.

“This year’s poster was approved with only very minimal edits, and it was the easiest poster we have ever had to approve.”