Best Summer Ever
TALISMAN was invited to design the key art and titles for the inclusive musical film, Best Summer Ever, which features 8 original songs and a history-making team, as the first-ever SAG-AFTRA project featuring a fully-integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities.
As an independent film aiming to guide festival and external promotional teams to market the film to wide audiences, the aim was to create a visual world that was both highly recognizable, but also sly – rejecting all doubts that unexpected characters can live, and thrive, within classic Hollywood story arcs and themes.
Informed by the key art, TALISMAN developed a confident messaging style and tone of voice to place the emphasis entirely on unbridled and unapologetic joy – appealing to a shared humanity and sense of humor inherent to the world of the film. The positioning evokes both a playful escape and nostalgic nod to classic cult and ensemble-driven movies, establishing the film within the pantheon of beloved musicals and comedies of the 1970s and 80s. The vocabulary instantly welcomes audiences to tap into the ‘wink-and-a-smile’ world of the film: cheeky, retro, and never, ever, precious.
TALISMAN was honored to work with Hollywood legends John Sabel and Paul Shipper, creating custom, hand-lettered type for the film’s art direction and campaign, and manipulatable illustrations of the talented cast for marketing across print and digital.
It has been a thrill to work closely with the team throughout the festival circuit, culminating in a ‘Best Screenplay’ win at SXSW, a NYTimes Critics’ Pick, an iTunes Editors’ Pick, among many others. We hope the success of the film inspires more creators to reimagine outdated narratives, and allow our world’s insanely talented artists of all abilities to gain the respect and relevance they deserve.
Arts + Entertainment
Key Art, Title Design, Campaign, Illustration, Motion, Art Direction, Communications, Positioning
Jacob Kemp
Michael Parks Randa, Executive Producer, Writer, Director
Lauren Smitelli, Writer, Director
Andrew Pilkington, Producer, Writer
Terra Mackintosh, Producer, Writer
Jake Sharpless, Producer, Writer
Leah Romond, Producer
Katie White, Producer
John Sabel, Lettering & Titles
Paul Shipper Studio, Illustration
Bill Vergos, Freestyle Digital Media
iTunes
Hulu
SXSW
Best Summer Ever's positioning evokes both a playful escape and nostalgic nod to classic cult and ensemble-driven movies, establishing the film within the pantheon of beloved musicals and comedies of the 1970s and 80s.
Informed by the key art, TALISMAN developed a confident messaging style and tone of voice to place the emphasis entirely on unbridled and unapologetic joy – appealing to a shared humanity and sense of humor inherent to the world of the film.
We hope the success of the film inspires more creators to reimagine outdated narratives, and allow our world’s insanely talented artists of all abilities to gain the respect and relevance they deserve.
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