Shakespeare in the Park, the annual free performances presented by the Public Theater in Central Park, celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2022 with a lineup that returns to the tradition of presenting two plays, Richard III (rescheduled from 2020) and As You Like It.
Each year, the season design changes in the spirit and use of Knockout, the font of the Public identity, and the summer Shakespeare campaign introduces the look for the full slate of Public productions to follow in the fall. Variations have included typography that is slashed, slanted, skewed, stretched and stenciled.
This year’s campaign—Pentagram’s 27th!—customizes Knockout with stars, flames, eyes, arrows and other illustrated symbols that fill the counter-spaces of the letterforms and are inspired by the themes of each show. The designers created 10 different alphabets (in two weights), one for each of the Public plays over the 2022-2023 season.
The 2022 Shakespeare poster design contrasts the two plays with LIES (with type with lightning bolts) and LOVE (with a blooming flourish), and includes a fully animated version for digital kiosks in the streets of NYC.
