My Letter to the World
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About the Project
In 2025, the Hagerstown Indoor Percussion Ensemble came to me with a show titled My Letter to the World — a program built around the idea that words have the power to heal rather than divide. The show's central question: in a world pulled apart by conflict and noise, what would we say if we wrote a letter not to one person, but to everyone?
That message was underscored by one of the most distinctive creative choices in recent memory: an antique typewriter, mic'd up and performed as a live percussion instrument throughout the show.
The director's asks were clear — feature the typewriter prominently, and create something worthy of a dedicated display wall in the school honoring the performers and the season. This was also a significant year for the program. My Letter to the World brought the HIPE back to Indiana Percussion Association competitive finals for the first time in eight years. The work had weight behind it.
Process
The main show poster anchored the typewriter as both the visual and symbolic centerpiece. The machine sits in front of the globe — humanity as backdrop, the typed page as the message in progress. An ornate gold border frames the whole composition, giving it the weight of a formal document, something archival and deliberate. The palette stayed warm and era-grounded: parchment and antique gold for the paper and border, sage green for the typewriter body, and the soft blues of the Earth visible behind it all.
The finals flyer came together under pressure. When the HIPE earned their spot at IPA Finals — the first time in eight years — the director had less than a week before the contest and one specific request: a letter, floating over the Earth. The image took a moment to find. Then it clicked: a sealed envelope, wax seal intact, drifting through a starfield above the planet. As if it had already been sent. As if it was already in the world. The ensemble moved fast to get there. The poster had to match that energy.
Both pieces contributed to a strong community response — drawing out supporters, filling seats, and giving a landmark season the presence it deserved. Worth noting: these were created before I had formally studied kerning and typographic spacing. Looking back, there are things I'd tighten. But the work did its job — and sometimes that's exactly the right measure of success.
Color Palette
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Typography
- Cinzel Decorative — ornate header on the main poster
- True Typewriter — paper text and community flyer body
Tools Used
- Canva
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Photoshop
Come and Show Support — Finals Flyer
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