This is a poster that I grew up looking at in my parent’s house in the late 60′s early 70′s. It was great to see all my favorite parts of the city piled together onto one giant SF hill. Totally unreliable for finding my way around the City, but very reliable for how it depicted the character of late 60′s San Francisco. I never got tired of looking at it, as there was always another undiscovered detail that could be found. Enlarge poster by clicking and you will see depictions of hippies staking out the Marin Headlands in their “Hippy Summer Camp,” while a dilapidated Jefferson Airplane drops daisies from above. Hey man! Isn’t that the Grateful Dead playing for free in GG Park’s Speedway Meadow? What a groovy time it was. The rules of graphic design poster art were being rewritten and a line was being drawn between free thinkers and “The Establishment.” Certainly a romanticized view of a time that will never be forgotten. Peace, love and happiness baby!

When Underground was asked to partner with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) to be a sponsor of the 29th Annual San Francisco International Asian American  Film Festival, we were like giddy kids chasing fireflies. At Underground, we seek the spark- the story that ignites a mission. Imagine how vast the task can be to find the prolific story behind a stories-teller like CAAM.

Prior to embarking on the festival campaign, we were fortunate to work with CAAM on reinvigorating their  brand identity.  In that journey, together we found “Stories To Light“-a just expression of CAAM’s purpose. The festival becomes the perfect stage to roll out the meaning of this phrase- the luminosity, intensity, directions, and colors (among all other properties) belonging to Asian American stories.

On top of the festival catalog, ads, and posters, the trailer was a wonderful way to define Stories To Light.  So many stories exist in one given space/ moment/ time… which, at point blank, is exactly what the festival is. Watch the trailer here.

March 10-20, we hope to see you at the movies!

in the digital age.