2008 Winner – Hat Morgan

Hat Morgan, a visual communications student at the time, won the 2008 Adelaide Fringe Poster Competition with her babushka’s with exploding heads. A very versatile image, it translated well for all types of design applications.

Creative Background (current)
I am based in Sydney, working as a freelance designer.

Creative Background (at the time of winning the competition)
I was in my final semester of a Visual Communications degree at the University of South Australia.

Why did you decide to enter the competition?
I designed the poster as part of a uni assignment. I figured that I’d gone as far as getting it printed to the required size; I may as well enter the competition!

How did you come up with your winning design?
During my final year at uni, I kept a visual journal – a scrap book of images, wrapping paper and colour combinations that I loved. When designing the poster, I immediately turned to these journals. I trawled through them, making a collection of ‘fringey’ things. A couple of images were real stand outs, so I played around with them for a while, blowing them up on the photocopier and cutting and pasting them down to create my crazy little babushka dolls.

Where did you look for inspiration?
As well as my journals, I researched event posters – not just for the fringe, but for music festivals, art exhibitions and other big events. I found that the best posters, well, the posters that I thought were most successful, had a clean, iconic image and weren’t too cluttered, so I worked towards creating something like that.

Had you entered the Adelaide Fringe Poster Competition before?
No. I’d heard alot about it though and had contemplating entering a couple of times.

What did winning the Adelaide Fringe Poster Competition do for you/ your career?
It obviously gave me some great exposure – a perfect way to enter the design industry!

What was it like to be in Adelaide with the streets plastered in your image?
It was pretty incredible. I actually put off moving to Sydney by one month, just so I could stick around Adelaide and soak it all in. The coolest thing for me was seeing my little characters animated on tv.

Do you have any advice for people entering this year?
Have fun! Don’t try and please other people with your poster. Just make something that you think is impressive.

What is your favourite past Adelaide Fringe poster? (Not including your own)
The 2007 Adelaide Fringe Poster-  The pork chopper.