Behind the Designs: How I Brought VAHI Porchfest 2026 to Life!

VAHI Porchfest 2026 was a massive success, and I am still on such a high from it! This was my second year in a row developing and designing the branding for the Virginia Highland District Association's biggest event, and honestly, it just gets better every single time.

Between the music, the porches, and the neighborhood energy, it was an unforgettable weekend. Here is a little peek behind the scenes at how we brought the look and feel of Porchfest 2026 to life.

🎨 The Vibe: Classic Americana Meets Cool Halftones

For this year’s visual direction, I took a lot of inspiration from classic Americana posters and vintage advertisements. I used that old-school aesthetic to guide my text layout and hierarchy, giving it a really grounded, community-focused feel.

But the absolute coolest part of the brand? The attention-grabbing halftone vectors of instruments and musicians! We styled them completely in our bright brand colors, and they looked so fun and energetic.

📢 Painting the Town: The Promo Phase

Once the brand identity was locked in, I dove headfirst into all things PROMO!

It was so exciting seeing Porchfest popping up all over Atlanta and all over social media. The internet excitement was totally real, and it paid off big time. Attendance numbers grew so much this year, and seeing people get hyped online and offline because of designs I made is truly the best feeling ever.

🗺️ Bigger Footprint, New Sub-Brands, and Lots of Signs

We added some major upgrades to the festival this year, which meant a ton of fun new design challenges for me:

• Porchfest Prelude: We introduced a kickoff event this year! This meant a whole lot of new deliverables and sub-brands where I got to create totally unique looks and feels that still matched the main Porchfest vibe.

• Wayfinding & Street Signs: Because the festival footprint expanded and restructured this year, day-of signage was super important. We packed the neighborhood premises with custom band schedules, maps, and street signs so everyone could navigate the porches easily.

🎫 A New Design First: Official Wristbands!

I got to cross a brand-new deliverable off my bucket list this year: festival wristbands! This was my first time ever designing wristbands, and I am so obsessed with how they turned out. Seeing thousands of people walking around the neighborhood wearing my design on their wrists was a major portfolio highlight.

🧱 The Final Count: 125+ Deliverables

When all was said and done, I created over 125 unique deliverables between print and digital for this event. They say "the more, the merrier," and that was definitely true here!

I feel so incredibly blessed to have such a big creative hand in the success of this event. Thank you to everyone who came out and rocked with us!

Amazing event photography by the super talented Sarah Carpenter. Check out some of my favorite shots of the designs in action below!