Truth be told, today’s poster started a long time ago as a concept entitled “It would be fun to make letters of carrots.” Carrot letters remained on our minds – not constantly, though – until we found a way to incorporate them into the Theatre of Literature series in a perhaps somewhat abstract but not completely random way: to illustrate Anne of Green Gables.
Probably nobody needs this classic story described. We focused on the one most characteristic feature of beloved Anne, her orange-red hair that earned her Carrots nickname from teasing but oh-so-charming Gilbert.
More indirectly we found carrots a good match because they bring to mind a certain simplicity of rustic life that is present in L. M. Montgomery novels. We made letters out of carrot slices, having bought a particularly big specimen for the purpose. We contrasted orange letters with the green background because of the strong contrast but also because of the greenery of Montgomery’s countryside setting. (Also, this way form and meaning go hand in hand, as we prefer them to do.)
And because we enjoyed working with carrots so much, we did not stop with one poster but designed a whole Carrot Alphabet for future use and reference and for the challenge the other letters presented. Of course, it’s possible to do some of the letters differently but in general we’re pleased with them.