Artwork from Macys 2009 4th of July Performance

This summer I did the July 4th Annual 33rd Fireworks poster for Macy's in New York. The legendary celebrations, sponsored by the 'world's biggest department store' Macy's were extra-special this year - the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Manhattan island, by Henry Hudson who sailed up the river which was eventually to be named after him.

The job was to create a poster which was then turned into a store-side animation and window displays. As the poster had to reflect the historic nature of the event, the typography harked back to a pre-digital era with every letter and illustration hand-drawn, inspired by the history of the event and the pyrotechnics themselves.

Since we were in New York for three weeks in June, we just managed to catch the campaign as it went live, but not the event itself (though last year's were amazing!) If you're in NY, the Mannahatta Project exhibition at The Museum of the City of New York is incredible - see the island as it was at the point of discovery, its flora and fauna, and type in any Manhattan address to see what it looked 400 years ago.