The man behind the poster

Ephrata resident volunteers for Basin Summer Sounds signs

EPHRATA - Ever since Ephrata's July Basin Summer Sounds concert began, longtime resident and current city councilmember Steve Lovitt has been helping to spread the word.

Lovitt is the creative mastermind behind the posters advertising the concert, including this year's, which was unveiled by the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce during a recent Basin Summer Sounds kickoff event.

When designing a poster for Basin Summer Sounds, Lovitt said, "I want to portray the festival and the town as being a little more hip. I don't want something that's just average, I want something that's a little more eye-popping, even if it's a little over the top. You've got to put that image out there so people in their mind think, 'Wow, look at that, must be something really cool going on there.'"

Lovitt's 2007 posters for Basin Summer Sounds and Miracle on Main Street were recognized by the Washington Festivals and Events and the Washington Recreation and Park Association, receiving the silver and bronze awards, respectively. In 2006, his Basin Summer Sounds poster received a gold award and his Miracle on Main Street a silver. The 2006 Basin Summer Sounds poster also was distinguished as Outstanding Poster in the Spotlight Media category.

Such recognition is affirming for Lovitt.

"I guess it's a little bit of reassurance that the work you're doing is good and the effort put in has been worthwhile," he said. "It's something I can certainly use in the future to help out whatever endeavors I want to pursue."

Lovitt is also in the elected position of the Ephrata City Council.

"I think being on the council and knowing what the chamber is doing, I think it helps the communication aspect of things," he said. "The council is real good working with the chamber and the Port of Ephrata anyway. There's just a real good rapport."

He has been on the chamber board for about seven years and was on the original committee for the first Basin Summer Sounds, so he volunteered to put together the first posters and other materials for the event.

"Ever since then, I've done the posters primarily because it's a great event for the city," Lovitt said. "I also get the opportunity to do the banners, stage signage and expand beyond the posters."

Lovitt's primary job at the Grant County Public Utilities District includes work on the PUD's Web sites. He also has a side business, graphic design firm 3KYDD Graphic Design, which he's had for at least three years.

"My side business, which I hope at some point becomes a primary business, I started building up enough clients that I had to make a decision whether to slow down or pick up the pace," Lovitt explained. "So what's happened is I've ended up picking up the pace."

Lovitt can subcontract through contacts he's made across the country and is a member of several Seattle organizations for networking. He primarily does work on Web sites and graphics, and hopes to expand in the future.

A lifelong resident of Ephrata save for college, Lovitt says his work has opened up doors to be a guest speaker, teacher and even participate in a book published last fall.

"I was in art all through school," he said, adding with a laugh, "My daughter had the same art teacher I had. So I've been doing it all along. My wife is pretty creative and my kids are very artistic as well. They draw all the time, they come up and show me their latest things. Some of them I've actually scanned and digitized for them, and made posters out of them."

Lovitt added he is getting into digital photography more. He also designed the sign and the Web site for the Ephrata chamber and for the City of Ephrata.

Ephrata chamber Executive Director Suzanne Dahl said she got to walk through the recent festival and see the various entries alongside Lovitt's posters.

"There are people spending like, their budgets are $75,000 and up, which is definitely not ours," she said. "We are basically getting (Lovitt) for his time and his dedication to his volunteer job. They're spending a lot of money on designers, they hire all that stuff out. We have our own designer that's basically here that's willing to do that for us. That's a huge benefit to us. We wouldn't be able to afford somebody of Steve's caliber. It is almost overwhelmingly amazing the kind of money people spend on what we're getting from Steve just because of who he is, what he does here."