Austin City Limits

Designing collateral for the longest-running music program in television history.

Brand Identity | Creative Direction | Layout Design | Illustration

Season 48:

End-of-Season Poster

Every year at the end of the taping season, Austin PBS creates a commemorative poster as a gift for supporters of Austin City Limits, the Friends of ACL. The look had stayed pretty similar for a few years and the team wanted an updated look that still showcased Scott Newton’s photography from the eighteen tapings that season.

Season 47 Poster Reference and Moodboard for Season 48

Season 49:

Branding & Collateral

Every season of Austin City Limits requires a unique look for badges, wristbands, volunteer shirts, social media graphics, event programs, and more. Staff wear badges all season and badges are provided to VIPs, artists, and volunteers. Each taping—a concert held with a live audience at ACL Live at The Moody Theater—is announced and promoted online, with taping passes available to donors and the community. Event programs highlight the artist and sponsors as well as the latest news from Austin PBS. When the television season starts, each episode is promoted on social media.

For this season, I wanted to reflect on the history of ACL as we approach the 50th anniversary, with a throwback to vintage cassette tape designs.

Social Media Graphics

Season 49 is the first time Austin City Limits has a suite of social media graphics that coordinate with the branding of printed collateral. Each episode has social graphics to announce the taping, give away passes, announce a livestream when applicable, and announce the episode premiere.

The color scheme for type on the livestream graphics is pulled from artist photography in order to distinguish them from other graphics as the livestream may be shared at the same time or close to other promotions about the same taping.

Announcements can happen on short notice or require quick photo changes by artist request, so I created templates to ensure members of the ACL team would be able to make changes if I’m not available. In busy months, Austin City Limits may have 5 or more tapings, so for future seasons I’d love to build a larger suite of templates under the season’s branding.