The poster competition is synonymous with the Adelaide Fringe, expressing the vibrant, bold, and magical spirit of the festival that transforms our state every year.
This year’s poster design winner has always held the Fringe close to her heart and was ecstatic to hear that her design would be the visual icon of Australia’s biggest arts festival for 2023.
“While surreal, it’s an absolute honour to be such a significant and visual part of the event –it’s a dream come true,” says 2023 poster design winner, Alana Naylor.
The brief for 2023 was to represent Fringe as “the sunshine after the rain”, which Alana encapsulated through her artwork ‘Fleurs de Fringe’.
The Cairns based, Adelaide-born graphic designer and digital illustrator, created a piece that is reflective of the transformation felt throughout the city during Adelaide Fringe, making use of simple shapes, inspired by native flora, and bold colour to portray the sense of vibrancy and energy synonymous with Fringe.
Day-to-day, Alana runs her own independent graphic design studio, Concrete Creative, often working on branding projects or building websites for small business owners.
“I’ve been following the Fringe poster competition since becoming a full-time graphic designer. Each year I get the email and read the brief. Some years, it’s client work that gets in the way and prevents me from entering, some years I hit a creative brick wall. I have a number of half-finished “Fringe Poster Comp” Illustrator files in my Google Drive!”
But being an artist wasn’t always on Alana’s radar.
“I didn’t pursue art at school, as I went down the maths / science route with the ambition of becoming a pilot – which I did, briefly. I graduated from UniSA with a degree in Civil Aviation and a Commercial Pilot’s Licence, but for reasons I still can’t entirely articulate, I just wasn’t happy. So, I decided to go back to the drawing board (zero pun intended), and after a bit of research, I discovered graphic design, which I never even knew was a thing.”
“It’s an absolute honour and a privilege, and I can only hope this artwork does its job; reflecting and compounding that distinctive ‘Fringe’ feeling, and sparking a sense of energy, joy and wonder in all who cross its path!”
Follow Alana's work @projectplay.co or @concretecreative.co.
More information from the 2023 Adelaide Fringe edition of WeekendPlus: