Portraits Trilogy is a series of illustrated posters promoting a fictional MET opera production of all of Philip Glass’s Portrait Trilogy. These three abstract productions depict the lives and historical events surrounding three figures that changed history forever in three different ways: Akhnaten (Amenhotep IV–religion), Satyagraha (Mahatma Gandhi–politics), and Einstein on the Beach (Albert Einstein–Science).

The main graphic structure of each poster is generated using the sound frequencies of a signature piece of music from each opera. They reflect the motifs and themes of the music and the stage production. 1) Akhnaten tells the story of a pharaoh’s unrelenting vision for the world’s first monotheistic religion for his Sun God. This epic tale is told using the radiating composition inspired by the sun while the triangular layout is reminiscent of the Egyptian pyramids. 2) Satyagraha tells three non-linear and interconnected power struggles between social classes that culminate in Gandhi’s life story and liberation of India. The three radiating rings reflect the three social classes of India and are connected by ‘strings’ that are inspired by the puppetry used throughout the show. 3) Einstein on The Beach is an abstract opera telling of Einstein’s life and allures to the events of the two nuclear strikes against Japan in August 1945. The two ‘falling’ rectangular forms are reminders of this event, and the circular pattern is inspired by one signature scene in the production.

The typography of all of three posters reflects the themes and echoes the main directional motifs of the graphical elements. And to reflect the timeless and unusual nature of Philip Glass’s brilliant but minimal orchestration, a classic Serif typefaces in combination with a tight and informationally dense layout inspired by film posters of the 70s is chosen.