Direct Mailer: Sketches & More

This link is a template for a cool little folding 3D desktop calendar. It wouldn't be very practical for my means, but I think it would work well for someone doing a corporate promotion.

This is a template for a folded pocket "PDA" booklet.

I liked this brochure idea because it looked like something that could be made into a calendar, or simply used as a different kind of brochure layout, alternative to the standard left-to-right booklet:


Ok, so these are a few notes and sketches I've come up with for my direct mail brochure:









I like the idea of doing something large-format that could fold out and be hung on the wall. My only major obstacle there is if I'll actually be able to print something that large double-sided.

Direct Mail Brochure: Beginning Concepts

Our next project is a direct mailer that efficiently grabs the attention of the target audience while furthering our brand's identity. Here I have a few examples of direct mail design that I found inspiring.

I especially liked this design because I could easily incorporate my film strip/reel or clap board design in a similar fashion:


I'm not sure exactly how I would use this design, but I find the shape and the way it folds intriguing. The curves are reminiscent of my logo, but other than that I don't know if it would really fit the overall aesthetic of my brand:


The idea I'm strongly leaning towards right now is a foldout calendar/rental log. My inspiration comes from a large foldout calendar I received in the mail early this year from Shoehorn Design. It was actually addressed to the previous tenant of my apartment, but it found a good home with me nonetheless. :) The folded size is 9x13" and unfolded it comes out to 26x36". It's versatile in how the user prefers to display it as well. Depending on how you fold it, there are four 3-month sections or two 6-month sections, and each 3-month section has a visual theme.

Front & Back, folded



Two 6-month sections



Four 3-month sections






I love that it's a promotional item that exemplifies the work of the company while also serving a useful purpose. I'll definitely be keeping it on my wall throughout the year, and afterward!



If I use this as a template, I think I would dedicate one whole side to the calendar portion and the other side to the information portion. Or maybe make either the top or bottom section a kind of tear-off part with coupons, etc. on it. I could also incorporate movie/actors' quotes and/or photos of said actors and movie images. The calendar portion will have places for the user to write in information such as what movies he/she has rented and rental return dates, or whatever else they wish. :)

Movies Worth Seeing Stationery Presentation

After taking and sifting through 200+ photos, this is the composed presentation board for my stationery set. I think it turned out quite well for my limited means. :)

Practice Photos for Stationery Project Board

I got some mail from my credit card company the other day and actually took a minute to inspect it (ha). I noticed that the liner of the envelope has a pattern that adds a nice, subtle bit of interest in contrast to the plain white of everything else. The pattern is of various objects like cars, purses, mp3 players, etc. relating to the subject matter, which is a points/rewards system that Citi does called the "Thank You Network." I was then inspired to take a few practice photos of the letterhead and envelope to get a feel for what I'll be doing for my project board...









Had to 'shop my address out of the photo, which is why it looks kind of strange/blurry in this last photo. I am proud of myself for this quickly-shot & assembled set of photos. All I had to work with were a table-top lamp, a shoddy wooden table, and my handy-dandy digital cam. These were taken at night as well, which is important to note because my living space has very large windows that let in a lot of light, depending on the weather/time of day.

GRD Club T-shirt Contest & Email List

GSU students interested in participating in the Graphic Design Club should email gsugrdclub@gmail.com to be added to the email list, and also to receive info on the T-shirt contest (submission deadline March 15). :)

Rise & Shine with the Times; Dots and Lines

I was Fbookin' it and this ad on the right-hand side of the page caught my eye:


Clever, clever. Using abstract (and yet very simple) shapes and colors to communicate the rising of the sun and a shining light in the dark. Also, needless to mention, a black-and-white advertisement is a quintessentially appropriate representation for a newspaper, yes?

When I saw this, I was immediately reminded of a cartoon I loved as a kid called The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics. Anyone else remember it? It was a Chuck Jones masterpiece based on the book by the same name. From all the way back in the 60's, can you believe it? ;)


The Dot and the Line : A Romance in Lower Mathematics

Stationery Phase 2: Refining

Kim gave me some great advice/feedback on my stationery and helped me figure out which direction I wanted to take this. At first I had trouble making everything cohesive, but now I think I've better accomplished that. One concern I do have is that it's a LOT of gray, and I definitely don't want it to be overkill. What do you guys think?


Letterhead


Outside of envelope


Inside of envelope


Business card, tweaked

Stationery Progress

I'm still frantically working on everything, but I figured I really needed to post samples of what I had so far so I could get some feedback in the meantime. The first two images are letterhead examples. The last image is a business card. The background color I'm using is Pantone Warm Gray 9 U, although the colors look a little funky since I uploaded these images as a mixture of CMYK and RGB.









Like I said, still working on different options, and I hope to post more very soon, including the envelope.

Preliminary Sketches for Stationery Design

I have a lot of options with this assignment. These are a few preliminary sketches, a few of which I've already started creating:

Stationery Design: Initial Research

Now we're beginning to formulate ideas for our stationery pack (letterhead, envelope, business card) for our chosen companies. I have a few sketches, but still lots of work to do in the way of conceptualizing. Today in class I looked at some websites for inspiration and technical info regarding stationery design.

French Paper's website gives the different sizes for envelopes.

Inspiring stationery design examples

U.S. Postal requirements