Cicada Invasion

Services: Product Development
Illustration & Design: Aaron Johnson, Andy Gregg, Derek Anderson, Joel Anderson
Creative Direction: Joel Anderson

The Project

The Great Southern Brood X of cicadas was about to emerge after being underground for 13 years. We wanted to commemorate the epic event with original poster art and keepsakes.

The Challenge

Cicada swarms can be an ugly, noisy, freaky nuisance. So how do you have fun with something that grosses people out and makes them wish they could live somewhere else for three weeks?

The Solution

We gave the cicadas some personality and played up the humor of their odd life cycle. After living underground for 13 years, they emerge for only three weeks with a very simple set of objectives: Sing, Fly, Mate, Die.

The Posters

We explored many color schemes, design vibes, and humorous themes so we could offer something for everyone who survived the apocalyptic invasion and lived to tell about it.

Souvenirs

Once we had finished a series of fun posters that would appeal to anyone no matter whether they loved or feared cicadas, we thought about what sort of commemorative keepsakes folks would want to buy as a way to remember the Invasion. We adapted our art to adorn shirts, mugs, postcards, stickers, swatters, and more.