To inform (and constantly remind) their clientèle of the club's policy to respect the musicians right to play without people talking over their music.

The Ellington is a sophisticated 'New York-style' Jazz Club where patrons enjoy international and local players in an intimate, dedicated jazz setting. While most people are happy to listen intently to the fine musicianship, there are the occasional few who need reminding that their conversation level could be hindering other people's enjoyment. The club's management wanted an alternative to constantly having their staff verbally reprimand patrons talking too loudly during the quieter sets. The challenge was to do this in a way that is constant, but also friendly.

The posters were extremely well received. People were drawn to the design and constantly made comment that they loved how they appear authentic to the era of jazz from which the design was inspired. Patrons also appreciate the good-natured humour of the message and most importantly, staff noticed an instant (and lasting) decline in the need to verbally remind people to lower their talking volume.

Because the message could be perceived as being negative (no one likes to be told to 'be quiet') the tone had to be friendly. We wanted a playful design that concentrated on the message, but gave an impression of the management being 'cheeky' rather than demanding. The design style (and choice of fonts and colours) is a deliberate reference to jazz albums and posters circa 1950s to help convey a sense of familiarity and therefore enhance the friendly tone. We also juxtaposed the mischievous headlines with intentionally verbose and over-friendly body copy, to again amplify the management's easy-going nature.